UAE: Man jailed for posing as apartment owner to defraud woman – News

Defendant also defrauded building caretaker and broker by including them in his ingenious scheme

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A 43-year-old Arab national was sentenced to two months in jail and fined Dh4,800 by the Dubai Criminal Court for luring an Arab woman with an ad on Facebook in which he claimed to own a housing unit at a reasonable price rent.

To perfect his ruse, the defendant used a real estate agent. He convinced the agent that he controlled the apartment and asked him to accompany the woman on a tour of the apartment. He then asked the victim to leave the amount with building guards.

According to the prosecutor’s office’s investigation and case file, the accused viewed the fraud as a means of earning extra money. So he devised a ruse, posting an ad on Facebook claiming that he owns a home for rent at a reasonable price.

The victim contacted the accused through the number listed in the advertisement as she had been looking for an apartment in Dubai.

The broker identified the defendant as an EA broker who agreed to her inspection of apartments located in one of the complexes.

The victim went to the apartment at the appointed time and inspected the apartment accompanied by a real estate agent. She then spoke to the defendant by phone. Here, he told her that the first payment for rent was Dh4,800. There is also an insurance fee of Rs1000.

He then asked her to leave the money with building security. She later came to collect the contract and the keys to the apartment.

The victim said she waited for a call from the defendant at the allotted time but did not receive it. So she called him, and he told her he would prepare the contract and hand it over to the doorman with the key. This time he didn’t keep the appointment as scheduled, which made her suspicious.

She explained that she was surprised to get a call from an agent who said he had received a letter from the defendant saying he did not own the unit and that he had been taunting the victim.

The victim was also directed to get her money back from the building janitor. When she did so, she was shocked to see that the plaintiff ran off with the money and switched off his phone.

However, the janitor had taken a picture of the defendant’s ID card. This helped her file a case.

The building’s guard testified during the Public Prosecution’s inquiry that he had handed over the money to the accused.

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