Alleged Owner of Cancún Home Rented by Puerto Morelos Mayor Linked to Ultramar Fraud Case

Cancún, Quintana Roo — The woman identified as the alleged owner of the Lagos del Sol residence rented by Puerto Morelos mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz is also accused of taking part in an embezzlement of more than 140 million pesos from the shipping company Ultramar, according to reporting by Diario CAMBIO 22.

María Frine Avilés Ávila was named as the presumed owner of the house in the upscale Cancún subdivision. She is also said to be linked to Héctor Alejandro Matey Espadas, the former administrator of Ultramar, who faces accusations of diverting the shipping line’s funds.

The searches carried out in Cancún and Mérida belong to the same federal investigation, file number FED/FEMDO/FEIORPIFAMF-NL/0000923/2026, opened over suspected money laundering and financial crimes, the newspaper reported.

Ultramar Allegations Reach Back Two Decades

Ultramar’s legal representatives accused the former administrator of carrying out 1,769 allegedly irregular transactions, moving money to at least 18 companies. Several of those firms are suspected of being shell companies, with tax addresses in Yucatán, Nuevo León and Coahuila.

The case covers alleged fraudulent administration and extortion, and includes complaints that people conducting the accounting review were threatened.

Sandra Marie Schmidt, widow of Ultramar’s founder, publicly accused Avilés Ávila — a former employee with more than two decades at the company — of involvement in the financial irregularities. Her name therefore already appeared in the dispute before the operation at Lagos del Sol.

According to the earlier reporting, investigators examined assets tied to the accused administrator that included a Cadillac Escalade, a Porsche Cayenne and a BMW 7 Series, along with properties in Cancún and the Riviera Maya. Among the identified properties were a beachfront apartment in the hotel zone and a residence in Puerto Cancún. Investigators also looked into land purchases registered under third parties’ names and millions of pesos in bank transfers without apparent justification.

The same report said that, during the audit, the owner and the team reviewing the accounts began receiving phone calls and messages threatening them unless they stopped their work. An employee was reportedly intercepted by armed men outside his home and warned to abandon the accounting review.

Mayor Says Raid Targeted the Landlord

Mayor Merari said federal prosecutors searched her home in the early hours and through part of the morning of Monday, Oct. 19. She denied being arrested and said the agents told her the operation was directed at the owner of the property.

According to her account, the owner is connected to seven properties subject to the proceedings, including the house she lives in, and authorities told her she may keep living there while they notify her of any change. She said she does not know what crime the owner is being investigated for.

Merari, whose political backing comes from an alliance of the PVEM, Morena and the Labor Party, said she rented the home through a real estate agency and does not know the owner or owners personally. That explanation leaves unresolved who signed the contract, who receives the monthly payments, how long the lease runs and where the money comes from.

Mérida Property Tied to Accountant and Real Estate Firm

The Mérida operation reached a property in the Del Arco subdivision, in the north of the Yucatán capital, identified as the operating base of the accounting firm ARMACONT and linked to accountant Luis Roberto Arcila Martínez.

The same building is registered as the tax address of Cayo Maya Inmobiliaria, S.A.P.I. de C.V., where Arcila Martínez is listed as a partner. The property itself is attributed to Alma Margarita Hijuelos García.

Notices posted at the Mérida site cite the same federal case file and a judicial search authorization issued at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17. The property was seized and placed at the disposal of federal authorities, with restrictions on selling or placing liens on it and warnings about the consequences of removing or breaking the seals. Officials have not yet released the results of the search, the evidence collected or information about possible arrests.

The file covers suspected money laundering, tax crimes and currency counterfeiting, handled by the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime.

Raids Extend to Isla Dorada and Playa del Carmen

Diario CAMBIO 22 also linked the same investigation to searches at a property in Isla Dorada, in Cancún’s hotel zone, and at a property known as “Casa Max” in Playacar, Playa del Carmen.

Media reports have connected the raids in Cancún, Mérida and Playa del Carmen to the investigation of Justo Aurelio Rivera Parrazales, known as “Tío Rivers,” through references to the same federal case file cited in the ARMACONT proceedings and at the Lagos del Sol, Isla Dorada and Playacar properties.