Over 40 buyers allege they paid for apartments in the Árvore project but never received them; the Quintana Roo Prosecutor’s Office is preparing criminal proceedings.
Real estate fraud cases continue to mount in Mexico, with one of the latest occurring in Cancún, Quintana Roo. There, the company Inmobiliaria Kritarq S.A.P.I. de C.V. and its shareholders face accusations of alleged deception to the detriment of dozens of buyers.
According to information regarding the case, the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office is reportedly poised to initiate criminal proceedings against Steve Santander Reyes, Georgina Margarita Lomelí Palomino, Wendy Nayeli Mendoza Bernardo, and Ismael Nava Mellado. These individuals are listed as the developer’s new owners and are potentially liable for an alleged multi-million peso fraud.
The affected parties maintain that they made payments for apartments in the Condominio Árvore project—located on Huayacán Avenue, northeast of Cancún International Airport—based on promises that they would receive their properties in 2025.
However, they claim that construction is virtually non-existent and that the development does not even have completed foundations.
At least 40 people signed purchase agreements for apartments valued at nearly four million pesos within a complex designed to house 50 residential units.
The complainants state that they fulfilled the payment terms stipulated in the contracts but, to date, have received neither their properties nor a formal explanation from the real estate company.
Furthermore, they note that Kritarq representatives stopped answering calls and avoided all contact with investors as delays in the project mounted.
Steve Santander Reyes and Ismael Nava Mellado singled out
According to the affected parties, Steve Santander Reyes was primarily responsible for promoting the real estate development, while Ismael Nava Mellado, acting as legal representative, signed the purchase agreements with the clients. Most of the agreements were entered into between 2023 and 2024, a period during which Nava Mellado acted as the company’s legal representative to formalize the transactions.
The buyers maintain that, in response to complaints regarding delays, they received evasive answers, promises that the situation would be rectified, and even alleged intimidation for insisting on recovering their investments.
They also claim that those responsible pledged to sign definitive contracts once construction was complete—a step that never took place.
A key grievance raised by the affected parties is that, at the time the contracts were signed, the real estate development showed no significant construction progress.
Furthermore, they allege that the documents contained a clause unilaterally empowering the real estate company to extend the deed-signing date by up to six months without requiring the buyers’ express authorization.
Even after that additional period elapsed, the work remains unfinished, and—according to the complainants—the complex shows no meaningful progress.
The affected individuals also state that the company changed its registered business address at least three times without notifying its creditors, thereby hindering any attempts to locate the firm.
According to accounts provided, when authorities or the buyers themselves have attempted to contact those responsible, the individuals were no longer present at the registered addresses.
The complainants maintain that the real estate company continues to market the development to new clients, while they have yet to recover their invested funds.
The last communication some buyers received occurred in September 2025, when a person identifying herself as the company’s secretary merely took messages and refused to schedule meetings with the developer’s representatives.
Source: elhorizonte
