Archive for the 'Real Estate' Category

Fugitive SF craigslist scammer pleads guilty

Published on August 31, 2011 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Rachael Marie Smith

Craigslist scammer admits to bilking would-be San Francisco renters:

Rachael Marie Smith was arrested over a year ago for scamming people out of rent deposits on craigslist. She would place an ad on craigslist renting out her place then would collect the deposit then she would tell people that they couldn’t move in because her mom had cancer. Of course that was not true.

Last month she went on the lam and did not show up for her scheduled court date.

She turned herself in two weeks ago and has pleaded guilty to fraud charges. Under the plea deal she’ll spend two years in jail and be able to pay restitution to her victims.

Again I say that anyone who uses cancer as part of their scam should be given cancer but that’s just me.

UPDATE 10/31/2011: She got two years in the federal pen.

Craigslist crime post #1504
Real Estate post #106

SF craigslist scammer goes on the run

Published on July 12, 2011 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Rachael Marie Smith

Alleged Craigslist scammer skips court dates, goes on the run:

I originally posted about 30-year-old Rachael Marie Smith here. She was arrested last year for allegedly scamming people out of rental deposits for a property that didn’t exist. Of course she did this by posting an ad on craigslist. Then she would tell the renters that they couldn’t move in because her mom contracted cancer.

She’s back in the news because not surprisingly she skipped her court date and is now on the run. I say this it not surprising because this is what scammers, con men and grifters do. When their marks get wise to them or when the heat is on they run being the cowards that they are.

Thanks to Barbi for the tip.

Craigslist crime post #1486
Real Estate post #105

Alleged Colorado craigslist scammer, NATHANIEL MARSHALL, arrested

Published on March 25, 2011 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Um...his name escapes me at this time.

Man arrested after 9NEWS investigates Craigslist scam:

I love this article by 9NEWS in Colorado, apparently they’re rather proud of themselves for getting a craigslist scammer locked up. It seems that an investigation they did led to the arrest of one 39-year-old NATHANIEL MARSHALL of Aurora.

NATHANIEL MARSHALL was allegedly renting out a condo that not only wasn’t his but was for sale.

This is the typical craigslist rental scam where someone claims to be renting out a property at a bargain price when the property is usually for sale. NATHANIEL MARSHALL is not the first scammer to be busted but it’s usually someone from overseas. NATHANIEL MARSHALL.

The fight isn’t over yet. Help spread the word on craigslist and backpage crime by winning a free CraigsCrimeList T-Shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1440
Real Estate post #104

Craigslist condemned house scam leaves family homeless

Published on March 25, 2011 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Condemned home leaves family homeless:

A family from Cleveland, Ohio rented a home in Decatur, AL that they found on craigslist. The family moved south in order to find work but when they got to the house it wasn’t exactly in the condition they thought it would be.

Not only were there repair workers living in the house but the house was in such bad condition it’s been condemned leaving the family homeless.

The homeowner is saying that he has never had any contact with the family which wouldn’t be surprising considering how craigslist real estate scams work and the scam artists have no heart whatsoever and don’t care if a family is left homeless. All they care about is stealing the money from their victims.

Again a moderated classifieds site with user profiles would go a long way in discouraging these scams.

Safer classifieds at Geebo.com.

The fight isn’t over yet. Help spread the word on craigslist and backpage crime by winning a free CraigsCrimeList T-Shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1439
Real Estate post #103

Rental scammer goes to jail

Published on March 1, 2011 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 3 Comments Tags: , , , .

Prison, payback for rental scam:

It’s not every day that we hear about a craigslist scammer not only being caught but being sent to jail for their crimes. However today is one of those days.

In West Chester, Pennsylvania 33-year-old Darryl Knight was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in Chester County Prison for scamming people out of deposits for a rental property that Knight didn’t own.

Knight used the alias of Tony Lal and advertised the property for rent and collected deposits from various people. The problem is that Knight didn’t own the property. As a matter of fact Knight was actually living there renting the property himself.

Knight is a father of seven who was fired from his retail job for stealing. I know desperate times can call for desperate measures sometimes but what gives you the right to steal from these people who were also in dire straits?

Hopefully Chester County Prison is as bad as the city of Chester is. This scumbag gets everything he deserves.

Geebo.com reviews every ad to try and avoid having its users ripped off.

The fight isn’t over yet. Help spread the word on craigslist and backpage crime by winning a free CraigsCrimeList T-Shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1421
Real Estate post #102

Another California rental scam arrest

Published on August 7, 2010 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Police: Woman took rent for home she doesn’t own:

30-year-old Amy Michelle Klopfstein of Bakersfield, California allegedly advertised a property for rent on craigslist and collected deposits from at least four people.

Except she didn’t own the property which had actually been foreclosed.

It is possible to screen ads so that things like this are far less likely to happen. Try Geebo.com, where they screen all their ads before they are ever posted on their site.

To help educate people on these scams you can win a free CraigsCrimeList T-Shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1282
Real Estate post #101

Rental listed as ‘Felon Friendly’

Published on August 4, 2010 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Arvada Neighborhood Rental Listed As ‘Felon Friendly’:

A rental property on craigslist in Arvada, Colorado is said to be for “felon-friendly shared housing”.

Of course it’s felon friendly. It’s on craigslist isn’t it?

But you can win a felon free CCL t-shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1274
Real Estate post #100

SF Woman arrested in craigslist rental scam

Published on August 2, 2010 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

S.F. woman accused of bilking would-be tenants:

Gossamer over there is 29-year-old Rachael Marie Smith of San Francisco. She’s been accused of placing an ad on craigslist renting out a property and ripping off the respondents.

Police say that Smith would ask for a $5,600 deposit and then would tell would be renters that they couldn’t move in yet because her mom had cancer.

Police are trying to determine if other people were defrauded. Anyone who believes he or she may be a victim is asked to call Inspector John Monroe at (415) 553-1936.

People who use cancer as part of a scam should contract cancer in a just world.

Thanks to SFist for the tip.

Win a cancer free t-shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1269
Real Estate post #99

Real Estate/Identity Theft Scam in Upstate New York

Published on July 28, 2010 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist, Real Estate and Scams. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

Online rental scammers: The Real Deal:

Residents in the Syracuse, New York area are being warned of a real estate scam on craigslist that could steal your identity.

In this scam it starts off with a phony ad being placed on craigslist except the ad is copied from a legitimate realtor. When you contact the person who placed the ad they send you to a website that they say is intended to get your credit report when in reality it’s set up just to steal your information.

My friends at Geebo tell me that the technology exists to remove ads like this before they ever get posted. Take a look at their site: trench.co.

Don’t forget to enter to win your own CCL T-Shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1259
Real Estate post #98
Scam post #186

Reader tells of scary craigslist rental scam experience

Published on July 28, 2010 by Trench Reynolds in Craigslist and Real Estate. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

I had an e-mail conversation today with a reader who had a very harrowing experience while trying to rent an apartment from a landlord that advertised on craigslist.

Her first e-mail to me said that the landlord had been arrested and was advertising again on craigslist and was there somewhere that this could be reported? My Reply was that you can try to flag the ad but that won’t guarantee that anything will be done about it. Or you could post an ad of your own telling of your experience with this landlord but that could get your ad flagged and removed. So basically I told her that her only real recourse was to notify law enforcement as craigslist will more than likely do nothing about it.

Out of curiosity I asked why the landlord was arrested and she told me that in a nutshell the landlord provided no written agreement and constantly went back on their verbal agreement. When the tenant demanded her money back a scuffle ensued and the landlord ended up assaulting the tenant.

She now regrets using craigslist to rent and even went as far as to tell me that if you are going to rent anyplace to do a background check on your prospective landlord.

We don’t have to put up with this. Boycott Craigslist. Try Geebo.com for a socially responsible alternative to community classifieds.

Don’t forget to enter to win your own CCL T-Shirt.

Craigslist crime post #1257
Real Estate post #97