Countrymen sent to court for rental fraud

DUBAI: Two Asian men who conned a tenant out of Dhs35,000 after renting him someone else’s apartment were referred to the Dubai Criminal Court, prosecutors said on Saturday.

The Dubai Public Prosecution sued them for using fraudulent means to obtain the cash, falsifying an unoficial document, using oficial documents belonging to another person and beneiting from them unlawfully.

The victim said he was browsing an internet site when he saw an announcement about an apartment for rent at a new building in a residential area in Dubai. He contacted the number listed in the advertisement.

The irst suspect replied and claimed he worked for a real estate ofice at the same building and was responsible for renting its lats. He summoned the victim to the building and presented him a number of apartments.

He agreed to rent an apartment worth Dhs70,000 to the victim and asked him for a Dhs35,000 down payment. The irst suspect later showed up with the second suspect and had a meeting with the victim.

The second suspect claimed he was the owner of the apartment and submitted papers to prove his alleged ownership of it. They concluded and signed the contract. The victim made the Dhs35,000 down payment.

They handed him the apartment key along with a receipt showing the amount he paid and the building’s parking entry card. He later arrived with his wife to the building. To his surprise, the parking card was not working.

He went to the apartment and tried using the key but it failed to open the door. He realised he had fallen victim to a scam. He tried to contact the duo. Their phones were switched off. He proceeded to inform the police.

According to investigations conducted by Khalid Hassan Al Mutawa, a senior prosecutor at the Deira Prosecution, the duo had committed a spate of similar scams and several complaints were iled against them.

They admitted during investigations that they cheated the victim out of his money by falsifying a property certiicate for apartments belonging to other people and presenting them for rent. They received and shared proceeds.

The head of the Deira Prosecution, Counsellor Fahd Abdul-aziz Al Zarouni, stressed the importance of dealing with licensed real estate agents, verifying the credibility documents and identity of agents, and seeking help from security authorities in case of suspected fraud.