Thin Blue Line: Robert Moreno Insurance

Saturday 15 December 2012

Robert Moreno Insurance

I had a really wonderful apartment in the mid levels of Hong Kong on Bowen Road. “Bowen Do Ng Ho” (Bowen Road #5 – This is the last of my Cantonese!) We had an extra bedroom we rented to a very nice American woman. She met a guy who became her boyfriend… a redheaded freckled guy I recall. He was an architect… so he said… with a San Francisco firm arriving in Hong Kong to build a skyscraper. He was a very pleasant fellow… a “jolly chap” my British friends used to say.Somehow, for the financing, the woman, who rented our apartment, became involved. To make a long story short… the guy (and the financing) disappeared. Huge bills owing were strewn around town. The woman, who rented our apartment, was devastated and left on the hook. We had all been fooled until days after this con artist fled. We had all felt more comfortable since we were dealing with what we thought was a “known”…someone from our own culture.So my ears perked up when a reader wrote to me after our latest Ecuador Visa Update.“Gary, When I read your newsletter today, I was hoping you would say something about the cost of a visa. Unfortunately, there are people who are promising newcomers a resident’s visa for $7000. I’ve never heard of anyone paying more than $2000 for a resident’s visa, no matter which lawyer they used.The reader went on to say that one couple discovered this scam and tried to back out of the contract. This elderly couple was threatened by a lawsuit.I do not have all the facts so cannot be sure if this is a pure scam