The estranged wife of Grupo Omnilife/Chivas founder Jorge Vergara has filed a suit in Texas accusing her husband of involvement in organized crime.
The action falls under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), a U.S. federal law that allows prosecution and civil penalties for racketeering activity performed as part of an ongoing criminal enterprise. Conviction is reliant on proving the defendant directly invested in, maintained an interest in, or participated in a criminal enterprise affecting interstate or foreign commerce. The law has been used to prosecute members of the mafia, the Hells Angels motorcycle gang, and an anti-abortion group, among others.
The case is able to be filed in the United States due to the fact that Grupo Omnilife USA is a subsidiary of the Mexican company that is part-owned by Guadalajara businessman Vergara and Fuentes, who are currently engaged in a bitter legal battle over control of the business.
A press release issued by Fuentes’ lawyers says the plaintiff accuses her husband of “taking control of Grupo Omnilife and Omnilife USA through e-mail fraud, extortion and blackmail.”
According to the accusation, during a meeting in Texas Vergara demanded his wife “return her shares in the company or he would destroy her in the media and organize protests against her.”
Fuentes was gifted 50 percent of the firm by her husband before they broke up their relationship. She has won legal rulings in Mexico giving her control of the company, although these are disputed by Vergara who has also filed criminal charges against his wife.
Vergara issued a bulletin saying it was unfortunate that Fuentes had launched the U.S. law suit, which he called “an adventure without any foundation that only contributes to misinform public opinion and that will generate legal problems for her in the future, besides the huge costs that she will incur for the unsuccessful claim.”
The RICO Act may include illegal gambling, bribery, kidnapping, murder, money laundering, counterfeiting, embezzlement, drug trafficking, slavery, and a host of other unsavory business practices.