The Jalisco Attorney General’s Office announced a new form of extortion in the state, which has been detected based on various reports targeting businesses such as gyms, beauty salons, and various schools.
In this new form, criminals engage in friendships with managers and owners of the aforementioned businesses until they begin to invent or generate conflicts, using which they extort their victims’ money.
Therefore, the state Attorney General’s Office sent a message to the public to identify this new form of extortion and to report the incidents immediately.
The new form of extortion involves criminals, occasionally two members of a family, entering or enrolling in establishments such as gyms, beauty salons, or schools, where they begin to form ties with the owners.
“Once those involved gain the trust of the business owners, they begin to create conflicts and tensions to the point where the extortionists threaten to report them to authorities such as the Prosecutor’s Office, the Alternative Justice Institute, or the Ministry of Labor,” the Prosecutor’s Office explained.
Extortionists may even falsify official documents to reinforce their threats, assuring victims that their businesses will be closed and that they may even be arrested by the authorities, when this may not actually be the case.
Fearing that the conflict will escalate and their businesses will be affected, victims end up giving money to the extortionists in exchange for an end to the threats.
What should I do if I am a victim of extortion?
The Deputy Prosecutor’s Office for Specialized Investigation of Social Concertation has identified these types of cases in some parts of the Metropolitan Area, although it has not been ruled out that they could occur in the rest of the state.
Therefore, if anyone is experiencing a similar situation or has already been a victim, they are encouraged to go to the Jalisco State Attorney General’s Office, located on 14th Street in the Guadalajara Industrial Zone, to file a complaint.
They can also call 089 as part of the national strategy against fraud and extortion to file the corresponding report, anonymously if necessary.
Source: informador
