The "phony landlord" scam happens every so often, but this time the impostor went as far as using the court system to protect his rights as a landlord.
Last year, a tenant moved into her new digs in Baldwin, New York only to learn months later that the man to whom she was giving her rent money wasn't the landlord after all. He was an impostor with no claim to the property, trying to make a quick buck off an unsuspecting victim in need of housing.
Before the scam was uncovered, it took a turn for the bizarre. When the tenant stopped paying rent because the man didn't make promised repairs to the apartment, he didn't just take his profits and run. Instead, the impostor pulled his landlord hat down tighter and actually sued the tenant to collect the unpaid (and illegitimate) rent!
A tip led police to arrest the man this morning on charges of burglary and grand larceny, after he allegedly pocketed over $10,000 in illegal rent, according to NBC. He reportedly faces up to seven years in prison, if convicted.
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