Further to Johnny's post re: shady real estate off shore operators - Second Citizenship and Residency: A Real Guide for 2025
I used to be on a mailing list of 'Live and Invest Overseas' - Live And Invest Overseas: Our Expertise Unlocks The World which at that point
was managed by a certain Leif Simon - Lief Simon - Home
I had lived in Cusco, Peru at that point and obviously followed up articles covering that part of the world.
In one of his articles describing Cuenca (Ecuador) and of course offering it as a great investment, he had mentioned that
'Cuenca was a capital of the Inca empire'.
Sadly, this is a at best a misrepresentation and at worst a blatant lie, as the centre and capital of the Inca Empire was Cusco, whose Plaza of Armas divides the empire in 4 parts. (Inca Empire - Tawantinsuyu in Quechua - Tawa is 4, ntin is part, suyu is area, empire, region, etc.)
While Cuenca might have been a regional capital of the Inca empire, calling it 'the capital' is akin to calling, say, Sacramento or Albany as US capitals. Yes they are capitals of their respective US states. No they are not the US capital.
I had sent them a brief email indicating that they had most likely made an error, and expected a polite "we are sorry" answer.
To my utter surprise I got this email back - it has not been edited at all, except for my first and last name being replaced with XYZ.
###
Dear XYZ,
Thank you for your email.
We have passed on your message and Lief Simon replied:
Mr. XYZ,
It seems you're passion for Cuenca has blinded you.
The essay you're so aggressively attacking us about states this…
"A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this former Inca capital still retains a prominent Andean-indigenous influence... a number of colorful, open-air markets where women in their traditional hats-and brightly-colored, embroidered full skirts-bring their food and wares for sale..."
Indeed, Cuenca was an Incan capital. So was Quito (the northern capital).
One example from quick research online…"the Inca Empire had established its Ecuadorian Capital city in Cuenca and built its sacred temple of the Sun north of Cuenca in a spot known as Ingapirca".
We're sorry that you didn't understand the context of what we wrote. Please do be more careful in the future.
###
I did not bother responding and unsubscribed. Why would someone try to belittle one of their readers and perhaps a potential customer?
Interestingly enough, I found a bit more background on Mr. Simon and his company and his wife:
ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/Lief%20Simon
ripoffreport.com/reports/specific_search/kathleen-peddicord
usacomplaints.com/internet-web/1019712-inter…reviews.html
How many other "service providers" like him are there?
Be well!
