A man from the United Kingdom is under scrutiny for allegedly being involved in a scheme that led to a Canadian couple losing their retirement savings. The man, Harry Robinson, asserts that he has provided evidence to Mexican authorities indicating that he did not use any of the missing funds and that he is also a victim of his co-accused.
Robinson, 66, is accused of collaborating with a Mexican individual named Jacqueline Herrera Herrera in deceiving Cindy Thompson and Glenn Brown from Curve Lake, Ontario, into investing $280,000 in a fraudulent real estate deal involving the purchase and resale of seven condos.
Documents submitted by Robinson to CBC News, including a memo and bank records from HSBC, both filed with the attorney general’s office of Quintana Roo, purportedly show that Herrera redirected the funds of Thompson and Brown through cashier’s cheques and transfers to undisclosed accounts. The memo alleges that Herrera, as the owner of the account under the name Xen Investments, restricted Robinson’s access to the funds.
Despite Robinson’s claims, no concrete evidence of the account lockdown was provided to CBC News. The memo calls for authorities to investigate the transactions linked to the cashier’s cheques to trace the ultimate destination of the money.
Robinson emphasized the importance of following the money trail in fraud cases and expressed frustration at the lack of efforts to do so in this instance. However, the focus of the legal proceedings against Robinson and Herrera, based on court records, is not on tracking the missing funds but on establishing fraudulent practices related to the real estate deal offered to Thompson and Brown.
A prosecutor’s filing seeking arrest warrants against Herrera and Robinson alleges that the couple was misled about the availability and ownership of the promised condos, leading to prolonged delays, fund requests, and unfulfilled refund promises.
While both Herrera and Robinson have obtained stays against arrest warrants at the federal level, the criminal proceedings at the state level are pending a court date to commence.
Robinson, who denies any wrongdoing, asserts that he has sought assistance from the U.K. Embassy. Public records indicate his background and lack of legal issues prior to this case.
Thompson described Robinson as the intermediary during the deal negotiations and expressed trust in him. Robinson, on his part, claimed he was also misled by Herrera and clarified that he did not contribute financially to the deal.
Herrera has proposed a settlement to repay a portion of the missing funds through a court-authorized alternative justice system, alleging that Robinson is accountable for the remainder. Thompson and Brown are deliberating on whether to accept Herrera’s settlement offer, wary of the possibility of recovering the entirety of their investment.
