Lawyer Juan Collado has built an empire of companies, including pawn shops Prenda Oro, S.A. de C.V. and Casa de Empeño Siglo XXI, S.A. de C.V. , which were founded 18 years ago, with branches in 8 states.
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had access to documents from the two pawn shops linked to Libertad Servicios Financieros , a Querétaro based company that is among the main companies “linked to strange businesses,” according to files from the Attorney General's Office .
According to the documents, authorities have identified 9 Prenda Oro subsidiaries and six Casa de Empeño Siglo XXI subsidiaries , where Collado's relatives are shareholders or have been part of the Administration Board . In 2015, the subsidiaries or branches all became part of Comercializadora Prenda Oro.
These companies have 21 business purposes , including the consolidation of civic societies and associations, national courier services, import and export of all types of transports, and the commercialization of properties .
All the Prenda Oro and Casa de Empeño Siglo XXI branches merged in 2015, into the Comercializadora Prenda Oro conglomerate , an organization that emerged after the foundation of Casa de Empeño Siglo XXI Monterrey. The name change became official on February 16, 2016.
Furthermore, the arrest warrant issued by the Attorney General's Office on July 6 mentions 42 companies with different commercial activities, which are allegedly linked to Libertad Servicios Financieros, S.A. de C.V. ; nevertheless, this list doesn't mention Prenda Oro and Casa de Empeño Siglo XXI, even though experts argue that pawn shops are ideal for money laundering .
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