Arrests and charges in the State of Mexico
Miranda Contreras, who served as Michoacán's secretary of administration and finance under Gov. Fausto Vallejo, was detained with his wife, two children, and a bodyguard in Metepec, State of Mexico. Journalist Leopoldo Espejel detailed his involvement in the ring in a report for Grupo Fórmula.
According to the State of Mexico prosecutor's office, known as FGJEM, the operation began in 2021 and was run from a home in Metepec's La Providencia residential area. Grupo Milenio and Riviera Maya News reported that the family was arrested at that property.
All five detainees were formally charged. On October 6, 2026, a State of Mexico control judge ordered them to stand trial for extortion and imposed justified pretrial detention as a precautionary measure, according to Noroeste/Animal Político and Grupo Milenio. They were held at Santiaguito prison in Almoloya de Juárez.
How investigators say the calls worked
The targets included politicians, public servants, and businesspeople. Investigators said the group acquired confidential information and approached them with fraudulent offers of promotions, candidacies, and other benefits.
Reports published October 8-10, 2026, by Noroeste/Animal Político and Grupo Milenio described findings from Mexico's federal Security Cabinet and FGJEM. Investigators identified Lázaro Cárdenas Batel, Olga Sánchez Cordero, Horacio Duarte, and Ariadna Montiel among the political figures whose voices the network cloned.
The calls followed a two-step pattern, according to the agencies' findings reported by those outlets. A group member first posed as a senior official's private secretary and sought the official's phone number from the target. Soon afterward, someone using an AI imitation of the supposed official's voice contacted the victim.
The second caller claimed to be acting on instructions from higher authorities and sought money, appointments to public posts, or service contracts. Investigators said the group demanded cash payments; when payments went through banks, they were routed through an architecture and construction company owned by Aimee, one of Miranda Contreras's daughters. Grupo Milenio and Riviera Maya News reported that finding from FGJEM.
Phones, SIM cards, and vehicles seized
Authorities seized luxury vehicles, dozens of SIM cards, and at least 19 mobile devices during the raid on the Metepec home, according to October 2026 reports by Noroeste/Animal Político and Grupo Milenio.
The devices included iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones, and Motorola phones. Investigators linked them to numbers used in the crimes and to earlier victim reports.
Part of a national anti-extortion effort
El País reported that the operation fell under the Claudia Sheinbaum administration's National Strategy against Extortion, which seeks tougher penalties and increased surveillance of extortion cells.
The newspaper described extortion as Mexico's third most commonly suffered crime, with nearly 97% of cases unreported. It cited a 2023 rate of 5,213 victims per 100,000 inhabitants, equivalent to roughly seven million people a year.
