In 2018, the Public Prosecutor’s Office discovered that a protected area of the Colombian Amazon had been subjected to indiscriminate felling of native forests, destruction of wildlife habitats, and poaching by a group posing as an Indigenous community. Upon investigation, the authorities found that the activities had been orchestrated by a criminal network known as Los Herederos. Their actions can be traced back to 2011, when the ringleaders obtained a copy of colonial public deed No. 509, dated January 13, 1906. In that document, the Spanish Crown returned 293,647 hectares of land to the Indigenous communities of San Bartolomé de Males. Using this document, the network falsely proclaimed themselves as an Indigenous community under the name Gran Jardín de la Sierra. To appear legitimate, they used the logo of a legally recognized Indigenous community with rights over the ancestral territory in question. The alleged criminals then sold property titles ranging from $150,000 to $15,000,000 COP (approximately $37 to $3,800 USD). They promised buyers official recognition as Indigenous people, which would entitle them to healthcare and education subsidies, and exempt their children from compulsory military service. In all known cases, none of the victims ever received legal ownership of the land or formal Indigenous status. The scheme spanned 8 locations, affecting over 3,500 families and more than 12,000 individuals, across at least 40 documented cases.