Ex-TV host wanted in Mexico for fraud arrested by ICE; she and husband face same charges

Inés Gómez Mont — a former Mexican television host who is wanted in Mexico for alleged tax fraud and embezzlement — is in immigration detention in the United States after she was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Miami, Florida, on Friday.

According to ICE, Gómez Mont, a former telenovela actress who became an entertainment show presenter, is being held at the Broward Transitional Center, located in Pompano Beach, Florida. Although she is wanted in Mexico, she was arrested for overstaying her U.S. visa, according to media reports.

La #FGRinforma que, derivado del intercambio de información con el Gobierno de los Estados Unidos de América, este día, en Miami, Florida, fue asegurada Inés “N”, quien cuenta con una orden de aprehensión vigente en nuestro país, por su probable participación en el delito de defraudación fiscal equiparada. Más adelante, daremos mayor información

— FGR México (@FGRMexico) October 30, 2026

The Federal Attorney General’s Office (FGR) acknowledged Gómez Mont’s arrest in a social media post on Friday.

“The FGR informs that, as a result of the exchange of information with the Government of the United States of America, Inés “N” was apprehended today in Miami, Florida,” the FGR said, adding that Gómez Mont is the subject of a valid arrest warrant in Mexico “for her probable participation in the crime of tax fraud.”

Gómez Mont is also wanted on money laundering and organized crime charges.

The charges are related to Gómez Mont’s alleged participation in a shell company scheme aimed at evading taxes, embezzling public money and laundering ill-gotten funds.

The former TV presenter’s husband, Víctor Manuel Álvarez Puga, allegedly led the scheme.

The newspaper Reforma reported that he and Gómez Mont allegedly received 17 million pesos (US $915,000) through a scheme that diverted funds from prison construction contracts. The couple is accused of involvement in an alleged embezzlement scheme linked to Interior Ministry prison contracts worth 2.95 billion pesos (US $159 million).

Álvarez Puga, a lawyer and native of the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, was arrested by ICE in September 2025 over alleged immigration violations. However, he was subsequently released pending further immigration proceedings.

Gómez Mont and Álvarez Puga have been subject to arrest warrants in Mexico since 2021. The FGR is seeking the extradition of both suspects, who have lived in Florida for years.

Reforma reported that the U.S. Department of Justice hasn’t begun the required legal proceedings to extradite the couple more than a year after Mexican authorities requested their transfer to Mexico.

Since 2021, Gómez Mont and Álvarez Puga were each the subject of an Interpol Red Notice — a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender or similar legal action — but President Claudia Sheinbaum said in September that Interpol had withdrawn the notices. She said Mexican authorities would seek their reinstatement.

Sheinbaum described Gómez Mont and Álvarez Puga as “well-known factureros,” or issuers of fraudulent invoices.

Gómez Mont seeks release from immigration detention  

On Saturday, lawyers for Gómez Mont filed a habeas corpus petition seeking her release from immigration detention. They also filed an emergency motion aimed at preventing her transfer to another immigration detention center.

Federal Judge Jeffrey Kuntz ordered ICE and other authorities to justify the need to keep Gómez Mont in detention. He ruled that they must do so by this Wednesday. Kuntz denied the request aimed at preventing Gómez Mont’s transfer to another immigration detention facility, saying that he lacked the authority to block such a move.

Reforma reported that Gómez Mont’s habeas corpus petition includes reports about the medical care required by one of her daughters. The purpose of including those reports, Reforma reported, was to justify the need to keep her in the Miami area and to release her from detention while her immigration status is assessed.

Álvarez Puga was released from immigration detention after his lawyers presented a habeas corpus petition in late 2025. He is scheduled to appear before a U.S. immigration judge this month. It remains to be seen whether Gómez Mont’s case will follow a similar path.

With reports from Reforma, El Financiero, La Jornada and EFE