Three couples are out thousands of dollars each after falling victim to an apparent rental scam on Craigslist.
Authorities arrested 47-year-old Monique Morris, of San Jose, on Thursday. She is charged with multiple counts of grand theft after allegedly renting out the same condo to multiple tenants and pocketing their deposits.
Investigators say Morris used Craigslist to advertise the condo on the 900 block of Catkin Court in West San Jose. Suspicious potential tenants contacted police.
It was not immediately clear who was representing Morris.
If convicted, she faces more than four years in jail.
“Everybody believes that you can find the best deal on the web,’’ prosecutor Kimberly Connors said in a release. “If you use the Internet to find a rental property, use the Internet to check that it’s legitimate.”
Local
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit is urging local renters to be vigilant against online rental scams.
