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Arrest made in rental home scam
County police arrested a 31-year-old Catlett man Thursday night for fraudulently renting foreclosed homes that did not belong to him.Richard Hiner allegedly posted rental listings on Craigslist.com and then collected security deposits and rent for bank-owned homes that had gone into foreclosure.
Police were contacted multiple times in the period between Sunday, July 13, and Friday, July 18, by victims claiming they had been defrauded after signing contracts on homes they found on the Web site.
According to police, after the victims called Hiner, the contact person on the advertisement, Hiner then allegedly gave tours of the properties and collected money from the victims.
Soon after the incidents, county detectives posed as renters and responded to a listing.
Hiner was arrested by detectives at one of the homes. He was charged with four counts of grand larceny by false pretense and three counts of burglary.
The known properties were located in the 6200 block of Cool Valley Court in Franconia, the 6400 block of Ronson Court in Rose Hill and the 7900 block of Russell Road in Huntley Meadows.
Police are requesting any information that could lead to information on rental home scams. Call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-8477 or e-mail at www.fairfaxcrimesolvers.org.
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