Brooklyn's Serial Rent Scammer Strikes Again in Williamsburg, Police Say

The suspect. Photo courtesy of the NYPD

EAST WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN — A longtime serial scammer haunting Brooklyn's (already nightmarish) rental market has struck again in 2016, according to the NYPD.

Cobble Hill resident Nathan Smith, pictured above, is wanted by police for allegedly defrauding a 25-year-old man looking to rent an NYC apartment earlier this year.

The two men met through Craigslist, according to police.

Smith allegedly showed his victim an apartment in February. The guy liked it so much, police said, that he forked over a $975 security deposit at 107 Wilson Ave. in East Williamsburg. (An NYPD spokesman could not verify that this address was the location of the rental itself.)

Thing is, the apartment wasn't actually up for rent.

When the man tried to move in, police said, he learned the apartment was already occupied. And by the time he tried to get his money back, Smith had allegedly vanished.

If true, this wouldn't be the first time Smith has defrauded a renter.

According to the Brooklyn District Attorney's Office, he plead guilty in December 2014 to stealing a $450 deposit from an anonymous victim.

That victim wasn't the only one. A PIX11 report from 2015 shows Brooklyn DA Ken Thompson apologizing and handing out reimbursement checks to more of Smith's alleged victims.

"I was chasing him since back in 2013," PIX11 investigative journalist Howard Thompson reported at the time. "He was pulling an apartment scam in Brooklyn, luring people with ads on Craigslist. They’d make deals to rent nice apartments then get hit for unspoken charges. If they balked, they were out their deposit. We thought we’d be able to help Reina Meiki, a Japanese student who was out some dough."

Thompson's video report (included above) shows a dramatic confrontation between the suspect and Meiki's attorney.

And while Patch can't confirm their authenticity, multiple testimonials on RipoffReport.com also make Smith out to be a serial scammer.

One user on the site wrote in February 2014 that she lost $4,000 to Smith. Another said she and her roommate had lost nearly $5,000.

The testimonials list Smith's employer as Stone House Management, Inc. — a company also mentioned in the DA's complaint. However, Patch was not able to get a representative for the company on the phone.

Anyone with information on Smith or his whereabouts can confidentially report it via the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers website or anonymously call the Crime Stoppers hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). Los hispanohablantes pueden llamar 1-888-57-PISTA (74782).

Tips can also be text-messaged to the NYPD by texting 274637 (CRIMES), then entering TIP577.