What to Know
- The NYPD is searching for a man suspected of scamming apartment seekers out of thousands of dollars in Queens
- The man has been connected to a nearly dozen cases since last July, stealing around $2,000 in each case
- The fake rentals were in Jackson Heights, Corona and Elmhurst, police say
An alleged scammer in Queens has collected over $10,000 from apartment hunters who thought they were putting down security deposits only to never hear from the man again, police say.
The suspect has been scamming people in Jackson Heights, Corona, North Corona and Elmhurst since last July, police said. In each of the 11 cases for which he's wanted, he met the victim inside an apartment and collected anywhere from $1,850 to $2,900 and then cut off contact with the victim, never able to be reached afterward.
The victims were in their 20s through 40s.
Police said the man wanted for questioning identifies himself as Antonio, Toni, Patricio, Emilion, Tomas, Alfredo, Angel DeJesus and Jesus Parra.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS or nypdcrimestoppers.com.
Police also said Wednesday they're searching for a woman in a separate real estate scam in Brooklyn.
