Alleged real estate scam was offering ‘Sanctuary’ in Belize

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According to the FTC, the defendants asserted the property would be completed soon and that the value of the lots would rapidly appreciate.(MONTCO.today file photo)

Belize is beautiful this time of year. Well, it’s really beautiful any time of year, except of course if you happen to be one of the more than 1,000 people who invested in what they thought was a piece of paradise.

According to the FTC, a repeat con man named Andris Pukke set up the scam. Currently he lives in California and perpetuated the scam even while serving a prison sentence for obstruction of justice. The alleged scheme took in more than $100M, marketing lots in what was billed by Pukke and his associates as a luxury development in Central America known by several names, including Sanctuary Belize, Sanctuary Bay and The Reserve, writes Dees Stribling for biznow.com. 

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Reporting on the development about a year ago, the Wall Street Journal called it an “imbroglio that has continually grown more tangled, amid multiple lawsuits, allegations, counter-allegations, feuds between the lot owners and developers, and divisions among the lot owners themselves.”

According to the FTC, the defendants duped consumers into buying Sanctuary Belize lots by falsely promising that the development would include luxury amenities, such as a hospital, hotels, a golf course, a spa, a casino and high-end boutiques. Also, they asserted that the property would be completed soon and that the value of the lots would rapidly appreciate.

Investors paid $150K to $500K each. Instead of developing property in Belize, “the defendants used consumers’ payments to fund their own high-end lifestyles,” the FTC alleges. Little work was done on the actual development.

To read the complete story click here.

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