Fraudster jailed after scamming London renters out of £77,000
Summary
A man from London was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for scamming over 30 people out of more than £77,000 by pretending to rent out a flat he did not own. He used fake documents and false excuses after taking deposits and rent payments.Key Facts
- Frederic Priestley, 34, from Southwark, London, ran a rental scam from April to September last year.
- He advertised a flat for rent on Facebook and gave fake tenancy agreements to victims.
- Priestley took deposits and rent payments, totaling about £77,400, without owning the property.
- Payments from victims mostly ranged between £800 and £2,000.
- He made up stories, such as family deaths, to avoid completing rental agreements.
- Police received 34 reports about Priestley’s scam from the fraud reporting center in September last year.
- He was arrested in October 2025 and pleaded guilty in April at Croydon magistrates court.
- On Friday, he was sentenced to two years and 11 months in prison for fraud by false representation.
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