Peoria police issue warning about rental property fraud

On July 26, a house in the 10600 block of West Sands Drive was reported as fraudulently rented over Craig's List by a male and a female calling themselves "Jamie Williams" and "Jim Williams."

The victims searched Craig's List for rental properties/rental homes. They located a home in Peoria and met the suspects at the home. The suspects made a demand for a cash-only deposit and arranged to meet them at a parking lot for the cash exchange. The victims were never provided with keys to the house, and were told by the suspects to change the locks and it would be taken off the rent. When the real owners of the home showed up to check on their property, it was discovered the home had been unlawfully rented. The victims had already done a lot of work on improving the home, and the property owners decided to let them stay in the house for a month at no charge.

After the first incident was covered by a TV news station last Monday and Tuesday, another victim came forward. On June 24, in the 18300 block of North 90th Lane in Peoria, a home was rented over Craig's List by a male and female calling themselves "Jamie Knight" and "Jason Sullivan." The descriptions are the same as in the Sands Drive case except variations on the name. 

The victims had searched Craig's List for rental properties/rental homes. They located a home in Peoria and met the suspects at the home. The suspects reportedly wanted a cash deposit and arranged to meet the victims at a parking lot for the cash exchange. The victims went an office in Phoenix on 24^th Street and found it no longer existed. The suspects used the company name Z3 Properties Group.

In both cases the suspects had the victims complete a rental agreement and gave them receipts.

One of the suspects is described as a white female, 22-26 years old, between 5 feet 3 inches and 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighing 230 to 250 pounds, with brown hair, sometimes worn in a pony tail, and is described by victims as having bad teeth.

The other suspect is described as a white male, 25-30 years old, between 5 feet 10 inches and 6 feet tall, weighing 170-180 pounds, with a tattoo of a heard on his hand, and is described by victims as having bad teeth.

The suspects' vehicle is described as a white Chevy Blazer, and the victims said the suspects had three children with them.

Anyone with information on these two cases or who may have information on the suspects is asked to call the Peoria Police Department at 923-773-7061 or the Peoria Police Tip Line at 623-773-7045.

Some "Danger Signs" renters should watch for:

• On Craig's List the property ad states "I'll fix your credit."
• All money exchanges are done in parking lots.
• There is a heavy push for "cash only" transactions, but the person will take cashier's checks and money orders.
• Suspects cannot provide much detail on the inside of the home or home layout.
• Suspects may not have a key to house or only the combination to a lock box.
• If you're uncertain, check the property through the Maricopa County Assessor's Office and see who the owner is to verify information.

Property owners:

It is suggested that homeowners or property managers who have properties listed for rent on the Internet check their properties frequently to make sure they have not been fraudulently rented. In both cases above, the homes were listed on sites advertising homes for rent.

Many legitimate property managers use Craig's List to advertise rental properties as it is very successful, so just because a home is listed on Craig's List does not mean it's fraudulent. Just check on the property before handing over cash.