By LAURA ITALIANO
Posted: 3:33 am
July 18, 2008
Four enterprising 20- somethings bilked 4,000 apartment-seekers out of nearly $1 million through a bogus "No Fee Apartments" scam, officials charged yesterday.
Customers were lured in by ads on Craigslist and other Web sites promising "Exclusive Listings!" from "New York City's #1 No Broker Fee Apartments" company.
But all customers got for the $200 they paid the four young alleged crooks - who operated out of West 26th Street offices as "Innovative Apartments" - was a runaround, according to state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The company wouldn't run the credit reports and background checks it promised customers, the AG said. And the only "exclusive, no fee" apartments it offered through its database either didn't exist or weren't exclusive and no-fee at all, having been recycled from other Craigslist advertisements.
When customers complained and demanded refunds, they were ignored, given a partial refund or given a refund check that bounced, officials said.
"Craigslist.org can be a terrific asset for New Yorkers trying to navigate a difficult real-estate market," Cuomo said in announcing the alleged two-year scam.
"But bait-and-switch schemes orchestrated by crooked apartment brokers can turn hunting for an apartment into a nightmare," he said.
Arrested yesterday were Innovative Apartments co-owners Nader Jaber, 24, of Manhattan, and Igor "Bobby" Portnov, 27, of Teaneck, NJ. Also busted were Portnov's brother, Boris "Brian," 22, also of Teaneck and Brooke Corio, 24, of Staten Island.
The four, appearing in jeans and T-shirts, pleaded not guilty in Manhattan Supreme Court to scheming to defraud customers and operating an apartment-information vendor without a license.
Hours after their arraignment, Innovative Apartments was still open for business.
Its Web site at inapts.com was still studded with testimonials by "satisfied" customers and pictures of apartment-building exteriors.
And their phones were still up and running.
"Why wouldn't we?" one befuddled operator asked when a reporter inquired if the company was still taking application fees.
Told the names of those indicted, the startled operator gasped, "Uh, yeah, they're my bosses."
He then hurried off the line without giving his name.
