Fake landlord scammed tenants out of £1000s on Facebook Marketplace

A Nottingham fraudster used Facebook Marketplace to rent out properties he did not own, scamming families of thousands in deposits

A Nottingham fraudster advertised a three-bedroom property for rent on Facebook Marketplace that he did not own, managing to dupe five families out of thousands.

Gullriaz Tajpuri, 49, Cornhill Road, Carlton, used Facebook Marketplace to advertise two properties for rent, providing unaware prospective renters a virtual tour of the properties, before taking their deposits and ultimately causing “financial misery” for his victims.

Tajpuri was able to take £3,100 from all five families that he scammed after they agreed to rent the three-bedroom property from him. An investigation was then launched after one of the victims, a mum in her 30s, reported the scam to Nottinghamshire Police.

The scam left victims borrowing money and, in one case, a man in his 40s told Nottingham Crown Court he and his wife were left homeless as a result of the cruel scam, being then forced to borrow money to buy a trailer tent to live in. The Nottingham mum parted with £695 for the deposit of the fake property listing.

The woman who reported Tajpuri to the police told detectives that she planned to move into the property in time for Christmas with her partner and young daughter. She said: “Before Christmas 2021, our daughter was so looking forward to moving into the new home. However, I had to tell her there was no new home. All our friends and relatives were asking if we had moved into the new property yet. It felt embarrassing.”

Another victim of Tajpuri told the court that she had been dealing with a divorce when she was conned, with the fraudster blocking her number as she chased him for a moving-in date. Tajpuri charged £695 to four of his victims and £350 to his last before being arrested by Nottinghamshire police.

He has since appeared in Nottingham Crown Court where he was sentenced to 13 months in jail, suspended for 18 months, on Wednesday, September 25.

Detective Constable Harminder Rai-Mottram, who led the investigation, said: "Tajpuri is a callous fraudster who inflicted financial hardship and enormous misery to a number of families in the lead-up to Christmas. This sentence sends a strong message that fraud does not go unpunished and I hope Tajpuri now uses this opportunity to change the direction of his life.”