Orlando-Area Cops Bag Suspect In Phony Landlord Scam; Accused Of Breaking Into Vacant House, Changing Locks, Renting Premises To Unwitting Tenant

In Orlando, Florida, WFTV Channel 9 reports:

• A home for rent was the perfect price in the perfect place, but there was just one problem. The landlord didn't really own it. Detectives said the self-proclaimed landlord broke into a vacant home and changed the locks. He then rented it out to a single mother. He would have gotten away with it, too, if neighbors living near the home [...] didn't get suspicious.

• Detectives said the home may not be the only vacant house the guy was using. In fact, they're concerned he may be running a similar scheme on renters all around Central Florida. It's simple enough. Put your own locks on the doors of empty homes, hand out the new keys to renters and take off with the money. Paul Mosher, 60, wouldn't say a thing about the $1,500 he swindled from an Orange County single mother. He rented her a stately Waterford Lakes home he never even had permission to enter. [...] The real owner is allowing the family to stay rent-free for another month, but that does little to calm the victim's rattled nerves.

For more, see Single Mom Swindled By Fake Landlord.

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