Graduation Party Canceled in Mérida as Students Accuse Classmate of 490,000-Peso Fraud

Mérida, Yucatán — At least 40 psychology graduates of the Centro de Estudios Universitarios de Mérida (CEUM) saw their long-planned graduation celebration collapse after they discovered that some 490,000 pesos collected for the event had allegedly disappeared, with a classmate accused of taking the money.

The party had been set for Oct. 31. It was called off just five days beforehand, after the classmate chosen to coordinate it, María Belén Osorio, gave evasive explanations and claimed a bank account had withheld 215,000 pesos — without producing any receipts.

After two private mediation sessions failed to produce a solution, 20 students filed a collective criminal complaint with the Yucatán State Prosecutor’s Office (FGE), turning what was meant to be a gala night into a criminal case.

A dispute outside the consumer agency’s reach

Because the money was handled by a fellow student rather than a banquet hall or event vendor, the Federal Consumer Protection Agency (Profeco) has no jurisdiction to intervene; the agency only handles formal commercial disputes.

The case therefore falls to the FGE under the categories of breach of trust or fraud. Under the state criminal code, those offenses carry prison terms of eight to 10 years when the financial damage exceeds the thresholds set by law, and they require the offender to make full restitution.

An expensive loss for families

According to ANPEC, an events-industry association, total spending per university graduate commonly runs between 15,000 and 40,000 pesos. Graduation rings alone cost between 2,500 and 12,000 pesos, while gowns, suits and formal shoes add another 2,000 to 7,000 pesos — money families had already paid out and which graduates now fear they will never recover.

With such abuses recurring every graduation season, Profeco runs awareness campaigns urging families to hire only providers registered in its Commercial Bureau and to stop student committees from concentrating funds in personal bank accounts.

Authorities recommend setting up joint accounts requiring two signatures, holding monthly account reconciliations and demanding a formal receipt for every payment.

As the FGE builds its investigation file and the student committee weighs whether to request sanctions from the institution’s Technical Council, the CEUM graduates are left with a double loss: their money and the trust they once placed in a classmate.