Bacalar Fraud Case: Influence Peddling Exposed

Bacalar, Mexico — The Bacalar City Council was surprised in January 2023 when Samuel Jaime Acuña Jenkin requested to lease the municipal tourist center "El Aserradero" and all its restaurants. The request, however, turned out to be fraudulent, to the extent that he and his Russian-born partner are now detained in the Chetumal Social Rehabilitation Center.

The deception involved presenting himself as part of a "restaurant group with more than three decades of recognized experience in the gastronomic sector nationwide, specializing in different concepts of meats, seafood, Asian fusions, family Mexican cantinas, taquerias, and events, among others," despite no prior record of such operations in Bacalar.

The brands that Acuña Jenkin and his partner, Viktoriya Ankudinova, listed in their application to manage the municipal balneario were: GrupoTaquearte ("Taquearte", "La Federal"), Grupo Sonora ("Sonora Grill", "Sonora Grill Prime", "Parilla Urbana"), and Grupo Cinbersol ("50 Friends", "Asadero Uno", "La Cabrera", "Fat Crow", "Ivoire", "Cantina La No.20", "Léntrecote", "Nikki Heston", "Pier 18").

The reality, however, was the installation of the couple's own restaurant, "Itzá Bar & Brasa," located in the "El Aserradero" balneario, from which they now accuse the City Council of dispossession.

In addition to this deception, the accused allegedly committed a robbery at a private residence, according to Administrative File 510/2025, which is being processed "against Samuel Jaime Acuña Jenkin and Viktoriya Ankudinova, for their probable participation in the criminal acts of Fraud and Robbery at a Private Residence."

Throughout the legal process, which began last September and has involved several hearings according to records from the State Superior Court of Justice, an extraordinary hearing was held on Friday, October 17 to request a conditional suspension of the process and a review of precautionary measures, conducted via videoconference.

There, Control Judge Rodrigo Barrera accepted the medical justification of the victim, who was unable to connect, and proceeded to defer the hearing to November 4, 2025.

On Saturday, October 18, the Public Prosecutor's Office and the victim were notified of a new hearing scheduled for October 23, 2025, at 4:00 PM, to review the request for a conditional suspension of the process and the current precautionary measures. The judge now assigned to the case is Marbella Doporto Orozco, who is a protégé of the Executive Branch's Legal Counsel. Before being elected as a judge, she served there as Director of Contentious Affairs; she also previously worked as head of the Second Ordinary and Specialized Chamber in Fiscal and Tax Matters of the State Administrative and Anti-Corruption Court of Justice, and was previously a public servant in the State's General Directorate of Notaries.

Due to her influence, Doporto Orozco changed the hearing date from November 4 to October 23, an unusual situation that is not common and contradicts the resolution of Judge Rodrigo Barrera.

According to lawyer José Félix López López, this change of hearing is without any legal justification. "It had been set for November 4, respecting the 15 days of medical leave that the victim has with a medical certificate approved by the control judge. This is a violation of human rights by not giving the victim the opportunity to be physically present at the hearing they are convening," he stated.

It is presumed that the law firm of the defendants' lawyer, Héctor Hernán Pérez Rivero, who is also a councilman in the Othón P. Blanco City Council, is using his influence within the State Government to bend the course of justice, as he is a member of the National Regeneration Movement (Morena).

The victim is calling on Heyden Cebada Rivas, Presiding Magistrate of the State Judicial Branch, to not allow their human rights to be violated, as the accused party uses its influences to manipulate the justice system.