Auckland rental scam: Pregnant woman, other tenants lose thousands

Aucklanders say this man scammed them but 'Ben' from England says he has no idea what the claims are about. Photo / Supplied

A young Englishman allegedly took thousands of dollars in deposits from house hunters after showing them through an apartment and promising them a tenancy before fleeing the country.

One of the victims is eight months’ pregnant and is $2250 out of pocket while desperately trying to find a new home before her baby arrives.

Several house hunters have complained to police, who have said it is an “elaborate scam” and have vowed to arrest the man at the border should he attempt to return to New Zealand.

The complainants said they responded to an advertisement on Facebook for an apartment in Airedale St’s Queens Residences in the Auckland CBD. A young man with an English accent who called himself Benjamin Earl showed them through the property and he promised them tenancy if a bond and one weeks’ rent was paid.

Salome Gonzalez, who is 38 weeks’ pregnant, saw the apartment with her partner. She said she was presented with a tenancy agreement listing Benjamin Earl as landlord.

Salome Gonzalez says she paid $2250 for an Auckland CBD tenancy that turned out be a sham. Photo / Michael Craig

Property records seen by the Herald on Sunday show the unit in question is owned by two people, neither named Earl.

Gonzalez was unaware of that when she paid $2250 to secure the apartment.

“After that, everything was all right until the day we were supposed to move in,” Gonzalez said.

“He texted me telling me, ‘I will be on my way 20 minutes later’. We got there early but we waited for him. We were like, okay, we can wait. Then he disappeared. We waited for 50 minutes.”

Gonzalez, who is from Chile, said “Earl” promised to refund her, but she still hadn’t received any money.

“He blocked me on his WhatsApp.”

She has to move out of her current unit within two weeks.

The Herald on Sunday contacted a man on WhatsApp using the number Gonzalez had used. The man, who said his name was Ben, said “I’m not fully aware of this”, and added: “That’s interesting to know”.

The Airedale St unit is listed as being owned by two people, neither of whom is named Earl. Photo / Michael Craig

Sent a screenshot of some allegations via WhatsApp and told people were claiming he took their money but disappeared, he replied: “Very interesting to know... I’m not sure what’s going on!”

A property manager at the Airedale St building had no record of a Benjamin Earl at the building and said the property owner probably rented the unit through an agency.

Another prospective tenant told the Herald on Sunday she also lost $2250 to the same man this month.

She said a man matching Earl’s description was present when her partner had a look at the apartment.

“He had a key to the building and a key for the room. I wanted to see if Ben was a real person. I did video call.”

She said everything seemed above board.

“So the next day he said the apartment was mine and he would [send] the tenancy agreement.

“I met him on video call so I thought, surely somebody wouldn’t go that far... I think two days later he sent me the tenancy agreement. I sent the bond. We had $1800 plus one week’s advance. All up that was $2250.”

The money was paid to a BNZ account. But on move-in day, Earl was nowhere to be seen.

“He didn’t turn up with the key. My partner was at the building for four hours waiting. The manager was the one to tell us to ring the police.”

She said the man then “ghosted” them.

She believed Earl more recently posted on Facebook looking for a place to stay and indicated he’d been living in hostels.

Some of the alleged scam victims and their upset relatives came into possession of the accused scammer’s date of birth, passport photo and several other identifying details.

The alleged victims said the man went by the name Ben Earl or Ben Elder, was aged 23, and was from England.

Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton of the Financial Crime Unit Auckland said three complaints were being assessed.

”The alleged offender for these incidents is a British national. Unfortunately inquiries have confirmed that he left the country earlier this month. If he attempts to return to New Zealand, he will be arrested at the border.”

Bolton said victims lost money through no fault of their own.

“We really feel for them. It is hugely upsetting for people who in good faith trust other people and end up losing a significant amount of money.

“We would strongly encourage any other person who has been in a similar situation as these victims to come forward to police.”

Bolton said in three cases, victims were shown around an apartment and given a tenancy agreement.

“Police have viewed these agreements and it is clear that these are fake. However, for general members of the public, this may not have been apparent.

“The victims have then been communicating with the person advertising the property via WhatsApp, which also raises alarm bells for police.

“While WhatsApp can be used legitimately, it is often a go-to app for fraudsters and we would just ask people to be very cautious.”

He said properties were advertised via Facebook, which was also sometimes used fraudulently.

If people had any hesitation when dealing with someone, they should seek advice from police or relevant agencies before handing over any money.

BNZ head of financial crime Ashley Kai Fong said if the bank was alerted to a possible scam or fraudulent activity being conducted from a customer account, it would investigate to verify the claims and take appropriate action.

“Alternatively, if the fraudulent activity has already been reported to police, we will work closely with them to support their investigation.”

Cybersecurity agency Cert NZ said both landlords and tenants were responsible for making sure a tenancy agreement was in writing.

“Any bond needs to be lodged with Tenancy Services within 23 days of the start of the tenancy.”

Cert NZ added: “Anyone asking for a bond or ‘deposit’ that does not follow the official process is more likely to be a scammer.”