WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — A man linked to a sham real estate company that bilked an apartment hunter out of hundreds of dollars was caught red-handed after a property manager got wind of the scam and set the suspect up.
The incident unfolded last week, when Juan Suarez, 45, came to the offices of Ron Properties at 225 Bennett Ave. on separate occasions claiming to be another man — complete with application materials containing the real renter's personal information and a forged ID bearing his name, police and staff said.
The company's office manager had noticed some things were amiss in the suspect's initial application, including phone numbers that didn't match up or were disconnected and sloppily-done photocopies.
The employee, Carmen Cohen, also realized information on the application prepared through purported real estate brokerage El Guardia Multiservices didn't match the one Suarez had filled out at the office earlier in the week.
While digging deeper into the materials, Cohen ended up contacting the man Suarez claimed to be and discovered the fraud.
“I spoke to [the real renter] and realized he knew the information in the application,” Cohen said, while Suarez couldn’t confirm much of what she asked him, including whether he had children or not.
When the actual renter, Leandro Germosen, 48, told her that he had two small children, Cohen said she immediately knew Suarez was lying and “wanted to set him up and see what was he doing.”
So she invited both Suarez and Germosen to her office on Thursday, with Suarez not realizing the man he was pretending to be would also be there.
Cohen said she asked Germosen to bring all his information for her to review before Suarez was scheduled to arrive.
“[Suarez] thought he was coming to sign the lease,” but when he arrived, Germosen was already there sitting in the main office area, she said.
When Cohen asked Suarez to confirm who he was for her records, he responded, “I am Leandro Germosen,” she said. Cohen said she then pointed to Germosen and asked, "Then who is this gentleman?"
Suarez immediately tried to run away, but Cohen quickly locked the office doors behind him and called the police, she said.
When officers arrived, they arrested Suarez and later found a counterfeit New York state license bearing Suarez’s photo but Germosen’s personal information inside their police car.
Germosen said he went through the fake brokerage — whose owner was identified by both him and police as Ines Sanchez — to find an apartment for his family, forking over $1,600 as well has his family's personal information.
“They said they'll help you get a place in 24 hours,” Germosen said, adding he was told his application would be sent to multiple properties after he paid the $1,600 “The storefront looked so real.”
Suarez was arraigned Friday on charges of possessing a forged instrument and impersonation, authorities said. He was released on his own recognizance, with his next court date set for May 2.
His lawyer didn't respond to request for comment.
Police were still searching for Sanchez, and visits by both officers and a reporter to the El Guardia Multiservices offices at 551 W. 184th St. revealed a shuttered storefront.
Ron Properties owner Ronald Edelstein noted that the scam is very common and is one of the reasons building owners are often hesitant to work with real estate companies unless these are thoroughly vetted.
"Many multi-service agencies have been doing this for a long time," he said, adding that "there is a litany of reasons to create false personas to lease apartments." For Instance, Suarez could've rented the apartment with the intention of never paying the monthly rent, or rented it only to turn around and "sell" the apartment for a larger fee to another tenant and pocket the extra money, Edelstein explained.
"People looking for units should only deal with licensed brokers or owners who are reputable," he said.
Germosen, who has lived in the community for 11 years with his wife and two children since moving from the Dominican Republic, said he is still searching for an apartment in Washington Heights. (Cohen noted that she is helping him find a place at one of the properties managed by her company.)
Germosen said he's fortunate that the fraud wasn't greater — he has not yet gotten his $1,600 back — and that wanted to come forward so that it doesn't happen to other families.
"This could be happening to hundreds of people," he said, "but we're grateful that the police is after them."
