Two Long Island men are accused of posing as landlords and collecting rent on a home they'd broken into in an alleged Craigslist scam, police say.
Jose Laboy and Barry McDaniel broke into a vacant home on Sunrise Service Road North in Manorville sometime over the weekend and changed the locks on the house, according to police.
They placed an ad in both English and Spanish on Craigslist, listing a residence for rent in Center Moriches, and took $1,300 as a purported deposit from someone who responded to the ad, police said.
The real homeowner returned on Feb. 1 to find Laboy and McDaniel inside his house, and contacted police.
Laboy, 27, of Shirley, was charged with grand larceny, burglary and other charges. McDaniel, 40, of Coram, was charged with burglary, criminal possession of stolen property and possession of burglar tools.
Attorney information was not immediately available.
Suffolk police are asking anyone who may have been a victim in a similar scam to contact them at 631-852-8752.
