Puerto Cancún
Encyclopedia
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 10 municipalities and its capital city is Chetumal....
, north of the city of Cancún
Cancún
Cancún is a city of international tourism development certified by the UNWTO . Located on the northeast coast of Quintana Roo in southern Mexico, more than 1,700 km from Mexico City, the Project began operations in 1974 as Integrally Planned Center, a pioneer of FONATUR Cancún is a city of...
, planned to include a golf course, hotels, condominiums, time shares and spaces for retail businesses. The multi-million-dollar development project was originated as a partnership between Fonatur, Mexico's National Trust Fund for Tourism Development, and Michael Eugene Kelly
Michael Eugene Kelly
Michael Eugene Kelly is the owner of Yucatan Resorts, Resort Holdings International, Puerto Cancun and Avanti Motor Corporation...
, the CEO, president and "principal promoter" who, since 2006, has been in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago
Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, Chicago is a federal remand center in the United States, located in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the intersection of Clark and Van Buren Streets. It has a triangular footprint, and has an exercise yard for the prisoners on its roof...
, facing charges of operating a $428 million Ponzi scheme
Ponzi scheme
A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to its investors from their own money or the money paid by subsequent investors, rather than from any actual profit earned by the individual or organization running the operation...
that defrauded over a thousand elderly and senior citizens of their retirement money. Advertising in 2010 described the continuing development as "a gated community" offering luxury and security.