Fake realtor scammed renters out of thousands in Suffolk County, police say
MASTIC, Suffolk County (WABC) -- Police say a man in Suffolk County scammed several people out thousands of dollars when he pretended to be a realtor for rental properties.
Police say Christian Anderson, 24, used the alias Benjamin Conyers, found rental properties online, and relisted them on a social media website claiming he was the realtor.
He allegedly did this for rentals in the Mastic and Mastic Beach area from January through March.
Suffolk County police say Anderson then arranged meetings with victims in bank parking lots in Shirley and Center Moriches.
He then gave his victims fraudulent residential agreements and keys in exchange for cash deposits, police say.
But, once the victims arrived at the rental properties they found their keys didn't work or that people were already living inside the home.
Police said once he received money from the victims, Anderson blocked or deleted his social media account and stopped communication.
Following an investigation by Seventh Squad detectives, Anderson was
Anderson, of Shirley, was charged with two counts of grand larceny and a scheme to defraud.
Detectives are asking anyone who believes they might have been scammed to contact the Seventh Squad detectives at 631-852-8752.
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