TINASHE MAKICHI
A United States national Shanda Quintal has been fleecing huge sums of money from unsuspecting American investors selling fictitious investment opportunities in Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa, it has been established.
It is understood that Quintal, last year introduced SOBA International, which she promoted as a network of global self-sufficient, sustainable villages focused on the healing and well-being of African diaspora on social media platforms.
On various social media platforms, Quintal claimed that SOBA International was coming to Zimbabwe, Belize, Ghana, and South Africa.
Four months ago, Quintal is said to have also claimed that she has begun clearing land for the first SOBA International site land and meeting with farmers, herbalists, botanists, eco builders, solar power companies, lumber and hardwood specialists and contractors.
Well-placed sources told Business Times that despite accessing funds from desperate investors, Quintal has never visited Africa contrary to her claims of meeting people on the ground.
Her Facebook posts therefore evoked the attention of authorities in Belize and various advertising posts were removed after cease-and-desist letters from Belize and US attorneys.
“There is a new wave of people selling fictitious investment opportunities to investors and in turn paid for non-existent brokering services. In some instances these people are even paid travelling allowances together with air travel costs and giving investors nothing in return,” a source said.
“There are investors mostly in the black American community who are desperate for African investments and there are people taking advantage of that and eventually conning investors.
“Quintal never visited Africa and Zimbabwe in particular but has been selling fictitious investment opportunities. To date she has since deleted all her social media accounts after the exposure,” the source said.
All efforts to get a comment from Quintal were futile.
Business Times is further informed that Quintal also announced a board post, noting that “phenomenal [Ag]ricultural Atty., Pepper Roussel” was on board with regards to the project.
But as of February 5, 2021, Belize’s Department of Lands and Surveys said they have no record of a purchase of land by Quintal anywhere in the country, leaving authorities concerned.
There are indications that Quintal, on January 29, 2021, was served with cease-and-desist letters from Belizean and American attorneys on behalf of the party to which the business, SOBA (Secured Offshore Block Asset International), belongs.
This publication is informed that Quintal has now deleted the Facebook post from July 7, 2020.
Africa and Zimbabwe has in most instances fallen victim to international con artists who have sold non-existent investments to investors. Investors have ended up losing millions of dollars.
Zimbabwe is on a crusade to lure foreign investors with President Emmerson Mnangagwa advancing the Zimbabwe is open for business drive. Zimbabwe has also created an enabling environment such as the setting up of the one stop investment centre under the Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency.
In 2015, United Arab Emirates-based financial institution, Tabarak Investment Capital disassociated itself from Mondore General Trading, a company involved in trading commodities such as precious metals, precious stones, energy and agricultural commodities.
Mondore Trading represented by Andre Homberg and his partner Sinclair Simpson claimed to have been representing the UAE based financial institution. They later turned out to be con artists.
