NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors say three people posed as real estate brokers to scam apartment-hunters out of thousands of dollars in fees and deposits on apartments they couldn’t get: Some places were already occupied.
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr. announced Wednesday that Ricardo Gonzalez, Elizabeth Adrian Perez and Juan Valoy have been indicted on grand larceny and other charges. They have pleaded not guilty.
Vance says the scheme targeted Hispanic immigrants looking for places to live in the bustling Washington Heights neighborhood.
Prosecutors say Valoy, Adrian Perez and Gonzalez showed more than 20 people apartments they claimed were available, then accepted as much as $5,500 for supposed application fees and security deposits.
Vance’s office says the defendants then delayed move-in dates and ducked victims’ calls.
