A suspected rental scam artist has been charged in New York City after several individuals accused him of swindling them over a non-existent Hell's Kitchen apartment. Nicholas Fuelling, 43, surrendered himself at the 18th Precinct yesterday, facing 14 counts of grand larceny, as reported by ABC7NY.
Accusations against Fuelling entailed his advertising of a $3,200 two-bedroom apartment at 334 West 47th St. in Manhattan, which reportedly did not exist. After seeing the offer on Facebook, one of the victims, Miguel Márchese, a 24-year-old aspiring model who had recently arrived in the city, told ABC7NY that his dreams fell apart when he discovered others had also been allegedly conned by Fuelling.
The Post detailed Márchese's encounter with Fuelling, where the prospective tenant fulfilled a down payment of $6,400, which covered the first month's rent and a security deposit. Márchese explained, "And I thought that was a really good deal… It seemed like a goldmine." His optimism ended after learning that another individual had previously transferred $6,400 to Fuelling under similar circumstances.
In response to the scam, the alleged victims began investigating independently. After friends inquired about the apartment, despite the victims had already paid, Fuelling persisted in listing the property as available. "Three of our friends asked, 'Hey is it still available?' And he was like, 'Yes do you wanna go see like today, tomorrow?'" Maria Cordeiro, another victim, recounted to ABC7NY, as cited by The Post. Following accumulated evidence, a formal complaint was lodged with the NYPD, resulting in an investigation and subsequent posters seeking Fuelling's capture.
Council Member Erik Bottcher, representing the Hell's Kitchen district, became involved by sharing Fuelling's wanted poster. Bottcher advised to PIX 11, "The problem here is he was a master of deception." Meanwhile, efforts by Márchese and other prospective tenants to recover their funds through institutions like Bank of America and Cash App have so far been mostly unsuccessful. Although an arrest has been made, many of the victims continue to face the consequences of the fraudulent scheme, according to The Post.
