Bank trying to recover $1.9 million loan to Mexican company

The First National Bank of Edinburg is attempting to recover a near $2 million loan it made to a Mexican air taxi firm — a loan that is guaranteed by a developer of extensive tourist attractions in northern Mexico along the Gulf of Mexico.

The bank filed a civil lawsuit in Brownsville’s federal court on Oct. 20 against the Tampico, Mexico-based air taxi Ejecutivo Aereo de Mexico S.A. de C.V., and also against GMP, S.A. de C.V., and the firms’ legal representative, Gabriel Maldonado Pumarejo.

The bank loaned Ejecutivo Aereo $1.9 million in June 2007. Maldonado signed the loan documents on the firm’s behalf and Maldonado and GMP executed the guaranty agreement, according to the court record.

Maldonado could not be reached for comment.

Maldonado is developing El Paraiso Resort & Golf several miles from Tampico and another tourist attraction near La Pesca, Mexico between Tampico and Matamoros.

The development plans were gleaned from GMP’s Web site and a June 2009 press release that Tamaulipas Gov. Eugenio Hernandez Flores’ staff issued during the inauguration of the second phase of El Paraiso Resort & Golf.

The petition filed by the bank in federal court says that Ejecutivo Aereo executed a renewal and extension agreement of the promissory note in February this year, a note that includes a principal amount due of $1,838,462 and called for monthly payments.

The loan is guaranteed by two lots at Playa Miramar near Tampico and an interest in a King Air aircraft that seats six persons.

According to the lawsuit that attorney Dennis Sanchez of Brownsville filed on the bank’s behalf, Ejecutivo Aereo, GMP and Maldonado have failed "and apparently refuse" to make the required payments.

The bank also is seeking to recover unpaid interest, attorney fees and court costs.