Hollywood rental property scam leads to LAPD investigation, search for suspects who used fake checks
Police are looking for a pair of suspects who used counterfeit checks and fake identities to rent in several Los Angeles neighborhoods. They say it's all part of a large scam fooling renters and landlords alike.
"They are criminals with no conscience. They have a tremendous sense of entitlement, and they know that they can play the system," said Michael Renkow. "And they do."
He's a landlord who rented his property in Hollywood to what he believed were legit tenants, using a screening company to run background checks.
"They showed up with a cashier's check. My inexperience, I gave them the keys, thinking cashier's checks' like gold. They don't cap, they don't bounce. " Renkow said.
He learned the hard way that cashier's checks do bounce when they're fraudulent.
Renkow isn't alone either. Another Los Angeles-area landlord, Jason Katz, also recently got scammed by the same suspects.
"I get an email from the bank with the payment returned, and I'm like, 'This can't be, this is a cashier's check. They never get returned,'" Katz said.
LAPD investigators say that the men were victimized by suspects whose real identities are unknown. Katz and Renkow say that they called themselves Manuel and Igor. They are believed to be active in both Hollywood and Larchmont.
Police say that the scam begins when the suspects rent a property using fake IDs that use their own photos but the information of another person. They then use those fraudulent IDs to get counterfeit checks.
"When the victim finds out that they're counterfeit checks, somebody has already moved in, but it's not the person that originally rented the apartment," said LAPD Detective Juan Campos.
He says that the suspects immediately turn and sublet the units to another unknowing renter.
While Katz was able to get his tenant out, Renkow has been unable to do so. Now, he has to go to court to go through the entire process.
"California is very tenant-friendly, and some states like Los Angeles have even greater tenant protections," said Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor. "So, if tenants want to drag the process out, it can sometimes take landlords weeks or even months to get a court order."
No arrests have yet been made, but police have shared photos of both "Manuel" and "Igor" as their search continues. Anyone with more information was asked to contact LAPD's Commercial Crimes Division at (213) 486-5995.
