Convicted Rent Scammer Gets Bagged Again, Frog-Marches To State Pen For 3-To-6 Year Stay For Ripping Off Five Low-Income Victims Out Of $16K By Posing As Public Housing Agency Rep Who Promised Section 8 Benefits

From the Office of the New York County District Attorney:

• Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., [] announced the sentencing of ENRIQUE GUERRERO, 26, to 3-to-6 years in prison for stealing $16,000 from victims seeking affordable housing in Washington Heights and Westchester County. On July 14, 2015 GUERRERO pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree and Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree.
  
  “Five families seeking housing last fall entrusted Enrique Guerrero with their money, only to have their savings depleted and their dream of an affordable home crushed,” said District Attorney Vance. “This isn’t the first time the defendant has taken advantage of hard-working New Yorkers – he has a prior conviction for a similar housing scam. Schemes like this deprive victims of the funds needed to secure their next place to live, and cause unnecessary hardship. If you or someone you know has been the victim of this type of housing fraud, I urge you to call my Office’s Financial Frauds Hotline at 212-335-8900.”
  
  According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court, from October 25, 2014, through November 18, 2014, GUERRERO stole $16,000 from five victims seeking affordable housing in Washington Heights and Westchester County through the Housing Choice Voucher program, also known as Section 8.
  
  In each case, GUERRERO posed as a representative of a government housing agency that could facilitate these requests, and claimed that he could help the victims in exchange for cash payments ranging from $3,000 to $4,500. GUERRERO signed notarized agreements with each victim in a Washington Heights office, promising them the lease and keys to an apartment within one month of receiving their payments. However, once GUERRERO received the payments, he stopped answering the victims’ phone calls, and never provided them with housing.

Source: DA Vance Enrique Guerrero Sentenced To State Prison For Stealing From Individuals Seeking Low-Income Housing (Enrique Guerrero Stole Thousands of Dollars from Victims Searching for Affordable Housing, Half of the Victims Did Not Speak English).