Suit: Dozens of Woodlands, Spring homes bought with stolen Mexican money

In a suit filed Wednesday, the government of the Mexican state of Veracruz alleges that hundreds of homes around The Woodlands and Spring were bought and leased with money their ex-governor Javier Duarte de Ochoa allegedly embezzled while serving in the government. Multiple of the homes are allegedly on these two streets, East and West Montfair Blvds., Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018, in The Woodlands. less In a suit filed Wednesday, the government of the Mexican state of Veracruz alleges that hundreds of homes around The Woodlands and Spring were bought and leased with money their ex-governor Javier Duarte de ... more Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 6 Caption Close Suit: Dozens of Woodlands, Spring homes bought with stolen Mexican money 1 / 6 Back to Gallery

The Mexican state of Veracruz filed civil lawsuits this week alleging that dozens of Houston-area properties were bought with millions of dollars stolen by the state’s now-jailed former governor.

Javier Duarte de Ochoa has been charged by Mexican authorities with diverting nearly $3 billion from the coffers of the oil-rich southeastern state into various shell companies and properties around the world, according to statements from the Mexican Attorney General. The civil suits filed this week allege some of that money was laundered through land and suburban houses in the Woodlands and Spring.

Houston attorney Anthony Buzbee, a trial lawyer who has been hired to represent the Veracruz government in its separate civil litigation, said there were various ways in which Duarte hid money. “Sometimes it was suitcases of money,” Buzbee said. “Sometimes it was fake contracts to buddies and shell companies. Sometimes it was ‘We’re going to build this road and allocate $100 million’ and then the road was never built.”

“The challenge is finding all of it,” he said.

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In five lawsuits filed this week in Harris County, the current Veracruz government seeks to recoup more than $75 million that it claims was reinvested partly in 40 properties scattered around north Harris and Montgomery counties by both individuals and Texas companies described as associated with Duarte, according to the lawsuits and property records.

Duarte visited The Woodlands — and bought a golf club membership there— but owns no real estate under his own name. Instead, homes named in the lawsuits were purchased by others accused by the Veracruz government of being “straw buyers,” the lawsuits allege.

“Mr. Duarte orchestrated a scheme in which hundreds of millions of dollars earmarked for social programs were diverted to an elaborate network of phantom companies – among other misdeeds,” according to five separate but interrelated civil lawsuits filed in district courts in Harris County. “The money stolen by Duarte rightfully belongs to the people of the State of Veracruz.”

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It's unusual for a foreign government to attempt to hire a private attorney in an attempt to recoup allegedly stolen assets by using civil lawsuits. The more common option would be to pursue civil forfeiture actions with the assistance of the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, said Philip Hilder, an experienced former federal prosecutor who is now in private practice. Hilder said the challenge in a civil lawsuit will be for Buzbee to prove with little or no assistance from the U.S. federal government that stolen money was used to buy properties named in the cases.

Months ago, the U.S. Department of Justice was asked by Mexican authorities to provide help with tracing Duarte's assets. A DOJ spokeswoman on Thursday declined comment on both the civil suits and the criminal charges filed against Duarte in Mexico.

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Among those named in the civil lawsuits is Duarte's sister-in-law Mónica Ghihan Macías Tubilla, who bought a house in Tomball several years ago, according to county property records. Macías Tubilla also has been formally questioned by Mexican authorities about whether she used Veracruz government money to buy property in a coastal town there, according to Mexican press reports and official press releases. Duarte has denied that he used Tubilla's name to buy Veracruz seaside condos, ranches and other property that has been seized in the last two years by Mexican authorities. Attempts to reach her were unsuccessful.

Another individual named in the Harris County civil lawsuits is former Veracruz secretary of finance Jose Antonio Mansur Jr. and three companies that Mansur's family established in Texas in the last decade.

But in interviews, members of Mansur's family have vigorously denied that any of their family properties were purchased on behalf of Duarte. Last year, Jose Antonio Mansur Sr. presented documents to show seed money for his family's investments came from Mexican real estate he sold about a decade ago. Tax records and deeds show that the family's investments mostly in rental homes in Harris and Montgomery counties were made in 2009 and 2010 before Duarte became governor.

The claims against ex-Gov. Duarte date back to at least 2016, when accusations by political rivals led to audits in Veracruz and then formal charges of money laundering against Duarte by the Mexican Attorney General. Duarte initially defended himself from the charges, then resigned as governor a month early before fleeing to Guatemala. He was extradited in July to Mexico City.

Duarte's right-hand man and former Veracruz official, Arturo Bermudez Zurita, has also been criminally charged in Mexico with misuse of funds. Public records show Bermudez Zurita, who headed the public security ministry or state police, and his family members also purchased properties in the Woodlands. But he has not been named in the civil lawsuits filed in Houston this week. Bermudez Zurita remains in prison as the Mexican prosecution continues, but has claimed innocence.

Buzbee said he expects to file many more civil suits targeting hundreds of properties, most of which he said are located in the Houston, Miami and New York City metro areas.

"The low-hanging fruit is these homes that are sitting in the Woodlands and Miami, some of which are vacant, some of which are not," he said.

Duarte is a former Mexican congressman and power broker for the ruling Partido Institucional Revolucionario (PRI). But human rights groups blame him for presiding over a particularly brutal era of violence. During his tenure, at least 14 journalists were murdered and three others went missing, according to Reporters without Borders.

Under the Duarte regime, the Committee to Protect Journalists dubbed Veracruz, formerly best known for its oranges, its oil fields, its picturesque port and its music, as one of the world's most dangerous places for reporters.

Robert Downen covers crime for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Twitter or email him at robert.downen@chron.com.