Three Months Jail Time For Two In SoCal Rent Scam; Judge Cuts Some Slack As Both Repay Victims; Craigslist Ads Used To Reel In Tenants

In Vista, California, the North County Times reports:

• Two Orange County men who posed as landlords and rented out foreclosed homes, taking thousands of dollars from unsuspecting victims, left a Vista courtroom in handcuffs Monday. Linda Smith, who had fallen prey to their scam, whispered a loud "yes" in an otherwise quiet courtroom as Superior Court Judge Daniel Goldstein sentenced Alexander Braslavsky, 34, and Anthony Patrick Marshall, 38, each to 90 days in jail. [...] Braslavsky, of Irvine, and Marshall, of Mission Viejo, each pleaded guilty in September to a felony charge of grand theft.

• Before announcing their sentences, Goldstein said he wanted to give each man a year behind bars. But the two men already had repaid the victims in exchange for a maximum sentence of 90 days. "I'm placing a great deal of weight on the fact that you made the victims whole," Goldstein told them.

***

• According to [Deputy District Attorney Anna] Winn, the two men would dress in suits and ties to meet the victims, telling them that Braslavsky was the owner and Marshall was his real estate agent. The pair would show the home, make a deal with the victim, hand over a set of house keys and take the victim's money, Winn said. Each victim paid between $3,350 and $4,500 to the pair, she said.(1)

For more, see Men get jail for scamming renters (Carlsbad couple among SoCal victims).

Go here, go here, and go here for posts on phony landlord rent scams.

(1) According to the story, how the pair got keys to the homes is a bit unclear, Winn said, but she suspects Marshall, a licensed real estate agent, was able to access lock boxes containing the keys and made copies of them. After the hearing, Winn said it was the men's parents, not the men themselves, who fronted the money to pay back the victims. Winn said she believes there may be more victims out there."I just find it hard to believe that there are only four," she said. PhonyLandlordScamZeta