January 15, 2016. Yekaterinburg police officers detained a 27-year-old man from Beloyarsky who is suspected of real estate fraud.

The spokesperson for the city police department says the suspect arrived in Yekaterinburg last September to rent a studio apartment in Shchors St for one day. He then immediately advertised the place online as a rental location available for a month.

‘Three different people called who were interested in the offer and decided to sign the rental contract. The suspect actually signed three deals in one day, getting 17,000 RUR , 10,000 RUR, and 28,000 RUR from the first, second, and third tenants, respectively. None of the tenants somehow grew suspicious of the property ownership certificate the ‘proprietor’ produced to them. The only thing the suspect asked every one of his victims for was for the tenant not to move in until the following day, since the ‘owner’ needed time to pack his things and move out. The following day, the man’s number was predictably unavailable. The unlucky tenants went to the police,’ the spokesperson said.

The man has been charged with fraud (Article 159 (Part 2) of the Russian Federation Criminal Code) and is now awaiting the court’s ruling in detention. In the meantime, the police are busy establishing his other possible attempts at fraud.