The Veracruz state government sued Arturo Bermudez Zurita, Sofia Lizbeth Mendoza Hernandez who was his wife, and Javier Duarte in Houston in the latest lawsuit filed in a Houston court seeking to recover funds Javier Duarte allegedly stole from the public treasury (filing date Feb. 12, 2018).
Arturo Bermudez Zurita, who was Duarte’s state police chief, has been jailed since February, 2017 in Mexico and has claimed his innocence while the legal process continues to unfold.
Interestingly, Sofia Lizbeth Mendoza Hernandez personally appeared in San Diego County, California on May 17, 2017 to take part in the sale of one of the properties identified in the lawsuit. In October and November 2016 she sought an injunction against a possible border control alert that would have prevented her from leaving Mexico, according to press reports at the time.
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Veracruz is seeking the defendants’ interests in 4 Houston-area properties, although the complaint misidentifies two as owned by a different defendant in a separate lawsuit.
The lawsuit refers to Arturo Bermudez Zurita and Sofia Lizbeth Mendoza Hernandez using only their second surnames (i.e., Arturo Zurita and Sofia Hernandez) but their identities are made clear by the properties Veracruz is seeking to take, which have been previously linked to Bermudez Zurita and his wife by prosecutors according to press reports:
- 26 S. Whistling Swan Place, Spring TX
- 25219 Kuykendahl Road # 210, Tomball TX (identified in the lawsuit as 25219 Kiykenhadhl Road)
- 19 Nagshead Place, Spring TX
- 23 Shimmering Aspen Drive, Spring TX (now owned by IDG Equity Investments, LLC, a Nevada company)
Veracruz is represented by the prominent Texas attorney, Tony Buzbee, who gave $785,000 to the Donald Trump inauguration and campaign committees.
Documents:
ChedrauiLeaks.org has noticed that the media in Mexico contains very little information about the business dealings and personal assets in the United States of what could be termed Mexican elites, wealthy business people and politicians. ChedrauiLeaks is not stating that members of the Chedraui family or its businesses had any involvement with any of the defendants, properties, or events described in the lawsuit.