The Brain

Ion Damian Nedescu, 48, is a respected philanthropist and serial entrepreneur from the Black Sea city of Constanța, Romania. He has dedicated much of his life to fighting autism and brought a new form of treatment to Romania, which he used to help his son. After falling into financial hardship, he moved to Mexico and became a shareholder in the front company the Riviera Maya gang used for their ATM scam, Top Life Servicios, in 2014. The group’s former technician testified that when he arrived in Cancún as a new recruit, it was Nedescu who met him and gave him the lay of the land. He also helped the gang set up their ATM network on the Riviera Maya.