Crime & Safety

Murrieta Family Victims of Alleged Rental Scam

The Whites of Murrieta found a home for rent on Craigslist—only to move in and find out the home was foreclosed and they'd been the victims of an alleged rental scam.

A Murrieta family of six was out $2,600 and sleeping in a motel, while a suspect was behind bars in an alleged rental scam.

"I'm still numb," said Lisa White by phone Friday.

White, her husband Zachary and their four children moved into a five-bedroom home in the 23000 block of Pinyon Street in Murrieta after finding it through a "for rent" ad on Craigslist.

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They moved to Murrieta two years ago and were renting a three bedroom, but needed a little more space for their large family, White said. Their children range in age from 2 to 19.

So the family arranged to meet with whom they were allegedly told was the son of the homeowner.

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"He told us his father had cancer, that it was his father's house and that he was taking care of it for him," White said. "He had a whole story for me."

They were asked to submit a rental application, and as customary were told they would need to wait a few days for approval.

They agreed to rent the house for $1,825 and gave $725 toward a deposit. Moving-in day was Friday, June 22.

That is when one of their new neighbors—a real estate agent—followed a hunch and together thye began to do some quick snooping.

"I had him run the name provided on the rental application and it did not match. Everything was leaning toward fraudulence so that is when I reported it to police," White said.

On Monday, police had to ask the Whites to leave the house.

"They researched it and found out the home was foreclosed," White said.

Working together with police, White lured the suspect back to the house one more time by telling him she wanted to make another payment.

"I told him I had another $800 for him," she said.

Murrieta police Detective Kelly Sik confirmed there had been at least one arrest in connection with the alleged scheme.

Christopher Carlos Gonzales, 32, was arrested and booked on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a felony, burglary and grand theft, court records show. He was being held in lieu of $25,000 bail at Southwest Detention Center.

"It is a shame that this happened," Sik said. "I am glad someone is in custody but we still have some investigating to do. We don't know the size of this yet."

As for the Whites, they plan to bounce back eventually.

"We had some reserves. If we didn't we would have been on the street," White said.

She said her husband, who commutes to Riverside, has a paycheck coming and she starts a job July 9.

In the meantime, the family is staying at a hotel in Chino Hills to cut down on the commute.

"Past that, I don't know. Only God knows. We have been doing a lot of praying."

White said she knows of three other families in the Murrieta Oaks neighborhood who may have also been victimized.

"I just want people to be aware," she said. "I know they were placing ads and there have to be other victims...I guess this kind of scam is happening all over the U.S. I would have never known."


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