A Long Island man is accused of turning New York City’s already nightmarish condo hunt into an even greater headache — pocketing more than $61,000 from renters who thought they’d finally discovered a place to call home.
Instead, some were left with nugatory keys, bogus leases and, in one case, the unwelcome shock of discovering another household already residing in their supposed new digs.
Rajat Verma, 35, of Franklin Square, allegedly posed as a real estate agent and rented out residences he didn’t own, sometimes promising the same property to a number of tenants, according to the Queens District Attorney’s Office.
The alleged rental rip-off focused residences across Queens and Brooklyn. auseklis – stock.adobe.com
The scheme focused at least 15 victims across Queens and Brooklyn, bilking them out of a mixed $61,625 in security deposits and other rental funds, prosecutors said.
And the approach he supposedly pulled it off was virtually as brazen as the alleged rip-off itself.
According to prosecutors, Verma first performed the function of condo hunter, approaching small landlords and securing properties with cast checks.
Before the landlords realized the funds were bogus, he allegedly got his palms on the keys and started promoting the residences online as out there leases.
He then collected hundreds of {dollars} from keen renters, handing over phony leases and, in some circumstances, keys that wouldn’t even open the entrance door, the indictment alleges.
Verma allegedly marketed residences he didn’t own, gathering hundreds from unsuspecting renters. Christopher Sadowski for NY Post
One sufferer confirmed up prepared to transfer in, only to uncover another household had already overwhelmed them to it — after apparently falling for the same scheme.
The rental racket ran from September 2022 through November 2023 and concerned seven properties in Queens and one in Brooklyn.
The Queens areas included Glen Oaks, Rego Park, College Point, Ozone Park, Hollis and Maspeth.
Verma also had a knack for reinventing himself, biking through at least 11 aliases along with completely different telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses, according to the DA’s workplace.
Among his purported alter egos were Rajib “Raj” Sharma, Sammy Miah, Barry Padmanabhan, Bobby Gupta, Dave Mair and Ahmed Abbas.
At least 15 renters were allegedly duped out of more than $61,000 in the scheme. eakgrungenerd – stock.adobe.com
“As alleged, this defendant took advantage of those seeking housing by purporting to be a real estate agent and renting out properties that did not belong to him,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a assertion.
“The unsuspecting tenants gave him payments and signed phony leases that left them without their money and housing.”
Verma was arraigned Oct. 29 on a 40-count indictment that consists of fees of scheme to defraud, grand larceny, id theft, prison possession of stolen property and prison possession of cast devices.
He faces up to seven years behind bars if convicted and is scheduled to return to court Nov. 23.
Verma faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the fraud fees. LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS – stock.adobe.com
The case provides another wrinkle to New York’s notoriously cutthroat rental market, where discovering an reasonably priced condo can already really feel like successful the lottery — only for some unfortunate renters to uncover their successful ticket was a faux.
Complaints about suspected rental scams in New York state rose 55% between 2023 and 2025, from 378 to 589, according to state knowledge obtained by CBS News New York.
Nationally, shoppers reported almost 65,000 rental scams and roughly $65 million in losses between January 2020 and June 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
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