Buyers searching for a Vallarta Gardens lawsuit will find a thin legal record and a heavy enforcement one. The resort, later rebranded as Kovay Gardens, has been the subject of one documented federal civil suit by a buyer, filed in 2008 and dismissed the following year on forum grounds. What replaced private litigation was federal enforcement: in February 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury sanctioned the resort, its founder, and a network of associated companies for laundering proceeds of a timeshare fraud scheme run on behalf of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG).
The 2008 Langsam Federal Suit
The earliest documented federal lawsuit against the resort is Langsam v. Vallarta Gardens, filed in 2008 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Andrew and Robin Langsam sued Vallarta Gardens, two affiliated Mexican entities, and the resort’s founder, Carlos Humberto Rivera Miramontes, personally, after a 2006 home purchase went wrong. The couple had wired $269,000 to an account specified by the resort’s director of sales, Gregory John Bloom. Rivera Miramontes then denied that Bloom had been authorized to act for the company, claimed no contract existed, and said he had never received the funds.1CaseMine. Langsam v. Gardens, 08 Civ. 2222
The case never reached a trial on the merits. Judge Loretta A. Preska dismissed it on forum non conveniens grounds, ruling that a mandatory clause in the contract required the dispute to be heard in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Langsams moved for reconsideration, arguing that Mexican courts were corrupt and that the defendants had engineered a situation where no forum would hear the case. That motion was denied on July 28, 2009.2CaseMine. Langsam v. Vallarta Gardens, 08 Civ. 2222 (Reconsideration) Court records also noted that Bloom was allegedly incarcerated in Mexico at Rivera’s instigation; the plaintiffs claimed Rivera “improperly bribed” Mexican officials to jail him, and Bloom eventually secured his release through a Mexican federal court appeal.
The Langsam outcome matters for anyone considering a similar suit today. Contracts signed at the resort routinely include Mexican forum-selection clauses, and a New York federal court has already enforced one over strong objections about the adequacy of Mexican courts. No class action against the resort has been publicly filed, though a group of more than 200 affected buyers organized through Facebook under the name “Vallarta Gardens Debt Club,” working to assemble enough victims for a joint fraud complaint. Members reported individual losses ranging from $20,000 to $250,000. Forum participants also warned that purported class-action organizers and “recovery” firms offering help were themselves secondary scams designed to extract more money.3TUG BBS Forums. Vallarta Gardens to A Private Residence Boutique Club to Kovay Vacations
What Buyers Say Happened
The property was established in 2002 near the Bahía de Banderas coast, not far from Puerto Vallarta. It cycled through several names over the years: Vallarta Gardens, A Private Residence Boutique Club, Kovay Vacations and Residences Club, Marina Oasis Beachfront Resort, and Navira Villas & Residences.4U.S. Department of the Treasury. OFAC Recent Actions Buyers reported that each rebrand made complaints harder to pursue and made the entity holding their money harder to identify.3TUG BBS Forums. Vallarta Gardens to A Private Residence Boutique Club to Kovay Vacations
A detailed complaint filed with the BBB Scam Tracker in September 2025 illustrates the pattern. The buyer described an October 2022 purchase of fractional ownership for $35,290, plus an additional $3,866 insurance premium through an entity called FORTEX Securities. Sales staff promised guaranteed liquidation and marketing agreements worth more than $81,000 combined. After two years of trying to recover funds, the buyer found the business unreachable and reported a total loss of more than $40,500. That buyer filed complaints with both the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center and the Federal Trade Commission.5Better Business Bureau. Scam Tracker Report 1063071
According to U.S. Treasury officials, the CJNG has controlled timeshare fraud schemes in the Bahía de Banderas area since roughly 2012. The Treasury described Kovay Gardens as the hub of a “vertically integrated fraud factory.”6CBS News. Kovay Gardens Puerto Vallarta Mexico Cartel Fraud Scam Treasury Prospective buyers were lured with promises of luxury and rental income. Once contracts were signed, the resort allegedly overcharged victims’ credit cards and passed customer data to CJNG-run call centers. Boiler room operators, posing as third-party brokers, attorneys, or financial representatives, later contacted the same owners to offer resale or investment opportunities, demanding advance “taxes” and “fees” that were never refunded. A further round of callers then impersonated law firms or government officials, including OFAC itself, claiming they could recover stolen funds for an upfront fee or threatening fines and imprisonment.7U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Sanctions CJNG-Linked Timeshare Fraud Network
Between 2019 and 2023, about 6,000 U.S. victims reported losing close to $300 million to Mexico-based timeshare fraud, according to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center. The FBI has said the real totals are almost certainly higher, estimating that roughly 80 percent of victims never report the fraud.8FinCEN. Joint Notice on Timeshare Fraud Associated With Mexico-Based Transnational Criminal Organizations
The February 2026 Treasury Sanctions
On February 19, 2026, OFAC designated Kovay Gardens, Rivera Miramontes, five individuals, and seventeen associated companies under Executive Order 14059, which targets foreign persons involved in the global illicit drug trade, and Executive Order 13224 (as amended), which targets terrorism and its supporters. Rivera Miramontes was classified as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist for acting on behalf of the CJNG, which the U.S. State Department had designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization on February 20, 2025.7U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Sanctions CJNG-Linked Timeshare Fraud Network
The designations freeze the network’s U.S. assets and bar American citizens from doing business with the sanctioned parties. OFAC identified thirteen companies linked to Rivera Miramontes spanning tourism, real estate, financial services, fuel distribution, and a holding company. Among them was Hotel Management International, LLC, a San Antonio, Texas-based firm also known as Vallarta Gardens Resorts, LLC, incorporated in November 2012. That entity’s assets were blocked as property in which Rivera Miramontes holds an interest.9Federal Register. Notice of OFAC Sanctions Actions
OFAC also issued General License No. 34, authorizing U.S. persons to conduct transactions necessary to wind down their dealings with Kovay Gardens.10U.S. Department of the Treasury. OFAC Recent Actions – February 19, 2026 On the same day, Mexico’s Financial Intelligence Unit placed several individuals and entities from the network on Mexico’s List of Blocked Persons. The February 2026 action was the sixth time OFAC had sanctioned entities connected to CJNG timeshare fraud, bringing the total to more than 90 designated individuals and companies.7U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Sanctions CJNG-Linked Timeshare Fraud Network
Sanctions are an enforcement tool, not a compensation mechanism. They do not by themselves return money to defrauded buyers or create a claims process against blocked assets.
The Criminal Track
Separately from the sanctions, the Department of Justice pursued criminal charges against individuals operating the CJNG’s timeshare call centers. On September 22, 2025, an indictment was unsealed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Docket No. 25-CR-169) charging Julio Cesar Montero Pinzon, a senior CJNG figure known by aliases including “El Tarjetas,” with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. His half-sister, Griselda Margarita Arredondo Pinzon, was charged with the wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies. Each defendant faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. Both are Mexican nationals and not in U.S. custody.11U.S. Department of Justice. Senior Member of Mexican Cartel Indicted for Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, and Terrorism A superseding indictment returned on October 27, 2025, added a third defendant, Carlos Andres Rivera Varela.7U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Sanctions CJNG-Linked Timeshare Fraud Network
Rivera Miramontes himself has not been publicly charged criminally in the United States, though his assets are frozen and his companies blocked under the sanctions regime.
Where the Resort Stands Now
As of mid-2026, Kovay Gardens appears to be functionally shuttered. The resort listing on RedWeek, a timeshare marketplace, is marked “inactive.”12RedWeek. Kovay Gardens Resort Page OFAC’s wind-down license authorized U.S. persons to complete necessary transactions to disentangle themselves from the property, though no formal seizure or transfer to Mexican government control has been publicly confirmed. Mexican authorities have signaled that investigations into other resorts linked to criminal operations are ongoing.13Riviera Maya News. U.S. Treasury Fines Kovay Gardens in Bahia De Banderas for Timeshare Fraud and CJNG Cartel Connections
What Victims Can Do
If you believe you were defrauded by Vallarta Gardens, Kovay Gardens, or any of its rebranded identities, the practical options run through federal reporting channels rather than direct suits against the resort:
- File a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. Complaints feed the same investigative pipeline that produced the Eastern District of New York indictments.
- Contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833-372-8311.7U.S. Department of the Treasury. Treasury Sanctions CJNG-Linked Timeshare Fraud Network
- Report to the Federal Trade Commission, as the September 2025 BBB complainant did alongside their IC3 filing.5Better Business Bureau. Scam Tracker Report 1063071
- Treat unsolicited offers to recover your money with suspicion. The Treasury Department has documented callers impersonating OFAC and law firms to extract additional payments from prior victims, and forum participants have flagged some purported class-action organizers as secondary scams.
An individual civil suit remains theoretically possible, but the Langsam ruling shows the forum-selection clause is a serious obstacle in U.S. courts, and Rivera Miramontes’s assets are now frozen rather than available to satisfy a judgment. Any lawyer soliciting fees to pursue Vallarta Gardens or Kovay Gardens on your behalf should be checked carefully against those realities before you pay anything.