Montreal police arrested a 43-year-old man after he allegedly pretended to be a landlord to scam tenants into paying him security deposits for apartments they would never live in.
Van Lanh Vuong was charged with breaking and entering and fraud over $5,000 at the Montreal courthouse on Friday.
Though police would not reveal all the suspect’s tactics, they allege he had a sophisticated method to his scams.
Police say the suspect would contact victims by replying to online postings from people seeking an apartment. He would message them saying he was a landlord offering a beautiful apartment at a low price, or put ads up himself.
They say he would then break into vacant apartments and allow his victims to visit before asking them to sign a fake lease and give him one or two months’ worth of rent as a deposit.
Lanh Vuong also allegedly used his own apartment to conduct his scams.
“He was selling them a dream,” said Sabrina Gauthier, a spokesperson for Montreal police.
The victims wouldn’t know they were scammed until their moving day.
“It’s really sad in the current context. There are families who would think they found a great place to live, only to find themselves homeless,” said Gauthier.
“They could then file a police report, but they don’t get housing in exchange. The housing crisis is very much still there.”
Gauthier says police received upward of a dozen complaints, but wouldn’t confirm exacly how many until Lanh Vuong’s trial begins. Police believe there were more victims who never filed a complaint and are urging them to come forward.