Detectives arrested a man Wednesday who bilked prospective renters out of hundreds of dollars over the course of days.
The victims were apartment hunting and visited an open house in the 5000 block of 40 Ave. SW. this past weekend. The victims met a 44-year-old man there who claimed to be renting out the basement apartment. The man collected cash deposits from multiple prospective renters before sending them on their way. The man called the people back and let them know he would need first and last months rent so he could provide them with keys to the unit. The people met with the man, signed the agreement, and handed over even more cash.
The victims went to their new home and were met by the elderly mother of the man who rented out the unit. She advised them her son has a drug problem and had swindled them out of the money and that the unit was never his to rent. The victims called officers who set up a meeting with the son so they could pay him the remaining balance for the apartment.
The victims accompanied by detectives to Westwood Village shopping center where they arrested the suspect. The detectives booked the suspect into King County Jail for theft by deception.