Vanelly Zavala Hernández, a woman accused by community members in Juárez of running a fraudulent savings pool, is now facing accusations that she faked her own death to avoid repaying participants roughly 1 million Mexican pesos. Zavala has denied faking her death, calling it a cruel prank staged by an unhappy client.
A scandal is unfolding in Juárez after a woman accused by participants of a “tanda” — an informal, rotating savings pool commonly organized through Facebook — allegedly faked her own death just as she was due to pay out the money she owed.
Fake Obituary Circulates Online
Residents of the Juárez municipality took to social media to report the alleged fraud, sharing what appeared to be an obituary for the woman, identified as Vanelly Zavala Hernández. The obituary announced her death and stated that funeral services would be held at Funeraria La Fe.
However, the funeral home publicly denied any involvement, stating that no such service was being held at its chapels and that it had no record of the person named in the obituary.
Zavala Denies Faking Her Death
Zavala later reappeared on social media to address the controversy, denying that she staged her own death. Instead, she claimed she was the victim of a prank orchestrated by one of the tanda’s participants, who she says created the fake obituary graphic.
“Mom, I made the news. Here we know I didn’t fake my death — the clients themselves did it, but I’m going to find out who made the image, because I also have the right to give my side of the story,” Zavala wrote in a social media post.
She said she plans to identify whoever created the fake obituary and promised to address the broader accusations surrounding the tanda, which participants say left dozens of people without their savings.
Participants Say Debt Exceeds 1 Million Pesos
Following Zavala’s public statement, participants in the tanda spoke out, alleging that the outstanding debt exceeds 1 million pesos. As of now, it has not been confirmed whether a formal complaint has been filed with the Fiscalía (prosecutor’s office).
This is a developing story based on claims circulating on social media. No formal charges have been confirmed at this time, and this article will be updated as more information becomes available.
