Mexican drug cartel operators posed as U.S. officials to target Americans in timeshare scam, Treasury Department says

A Mexican drug cartel was so bold in operating frauds that target elderly Americans that the gang's operators posed as U.S. Treasury Department officials, U.S. authorities said Thursday.

The scam was described by the department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC. The agency has been chasing fraudsters using call centers controlled by the Jalisco drug cartel to promote fake offers to buy Americans' timeshare properties. They have scammed at least 600 Americans out of about $40 million, officials said.

But they also began contacting people claiming to be employees of OFAC itself, and offering to free up funds purportedly frozen by the U.S. agency, which combats illicit funds and money laundering.