Cancun, Quintana Roo — Auto financing company Autosureste by Caylab abruptly closed its two offices in Cancun, leaving about 20 people who paid deposits for vehicles without their cars. The victims estimate the company’s directors fled with about 1 million pesos ($50,000).
The victims went to the State Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday to file complaints and speak to the press, calling on state and municipal authorities to intervene.
Autosureste by Caylab’s directors — identified as Noe Axe, Rafael Garcia, and Raul Ruiz — claimed to offer “bridge credits,” buying vehicles and then offering them through installment plans of up to five years. Victims had to pay a deposit to receive a car, but the same vehicle was often sold to multiple people.
The company’s Facebook page, which stopped being updated on July 15, still shows posts advertising various cars. Recent comments warn of the fraud.
“We are working people who saved to have our own vehicle,” said Sara Sandoval, one of the victims who filed a complaint. “We have proof, including photos of the units and of the people who attended us, pretending to be a stable company.” Sandoval said she paid a 35,000-peso deposit with the promise of receiving her car on July 23. After unanswered calls, she went to Autosureste’s office at Plaza Punta Tulum and found it empty, as was its branch at Plaza Canaima.
Other victims sold their cars or borrowed money to buy through the company. Defrauded amounts vary but often exceed 40,000 or 50,000 pesos. Most learned about the “modality” through Facebook.
“If they offer you a car with GPS and easy terms, don’t trust it,” Sandoval said. “Check the company. In our case, they uploaded videos of vehicle deliveries, but they were fake.”
The group is demanding swift action from the prosecutor’s office to locate the directors and threatened to block Cancun’s Hotel Zone if they are not heard. On social media, other victims have posted photos of the directors, asking for information and even offering a reward.
