SINGAPORE - A French exchange student looking for a place to stay in Singapore contacted Gibson Zeng Xianfu after seeing his rental listing on Airbnb.

The student paid $9,000 to secure the unit but before the agreed move-in date, Zeng, 29, claimed it was unavailable and offered another date or a refund.

The victim received neither and after arriving here without a place to stay, had to look for alternative accommodation.

He was one of 62 victims from at least 12 countries, including Singapore, who were scammed of nearly $383,000 by Zeng in one of the largest rental scams here, said the prosecution.

Zeng even had the audacity to cheat some victims after being arrested and while out on bail twice.

On Tuesday, Zeng pleaded guilty to 23 charges of cheating, with 39 similar charges taken into consideration.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Shiau Yin said between 2018 and 2020 Zeng was a sales executive at Singapore Housing Company, a company specialising in the rental of units. His job scope involved taking photos of units for rental and arranging for viewings with clients.

After leaving his job, Zeng uploaded some of these photos on the Airbnb platform, despite not having the authority or ability to rent out the advertised apartments.

Details of these units were redacted from court documents.

He added a veneer of legitimacy to his scheme by preparing bogus tenancy agreements for his victims, said DPP Wong.

Two victims included a German man and woman who were coming to Singapore for further studies.

After seeing a listing from Zeng on Airbnb on Feb 4, 2022, the man contacted him and the pair agreed on the rental of the unit.

Zeng asked for a deposit of $7,000, which the victims paid on Feb 15, 2022. He got the man to sign a written agreement purporting to set out the terms of their rental agreement.

One day before the agreed move-in date, Zeng told the man the unit was unavailable as the outgoing tenant had contracted Covid-19 and offered a delayed move-in date or refund.

The victim asked for a one-week rental refund which Zeng provided. But he did not fulfill the rental of the unit and did not refund the remaining money.

DPP Wong said this caused the victims to source for alternative accommodation.

In June 2022, a Belgian international student contacted Zeng after seeing a listing on Airbnb and they agreed on the rental of multiple units for five students.

Over six occasions, between June 24 and July 5, 2022, the victims, who were also from Britain, Germany and Switzerland, paid Zeng more than $16,600 for a deposit, but couldn’t rent the units.

Another victim - a Singaporean man - contacted Zeng on May 11, 2022, and paid $7,000 the next day to rent a unit. The victim signed a tenancy agreement purportedly issued by a VLPO Consulting.

On the agreed move-in date, the man went there and discovered it was occupied.

Confused, he contacted the occupants’ agent and was told this was not the first time tenants had showed up, intending to move in. The victim tried to contact Zeng without success.

Zeng was arrested on Feb 10, 2022 after police reports were made, and he was released on bail the same day.

But he continued scamming people while under investigations and was arrested again on July 20 and charged in court the next day.

Due to the extent of the scams, he was placed in remand for a week before being released on bail.

Zeng cheated six more victims between Aug 2 and Aug 28. Bail was revoked on Oct 5 and he has been in remand since.

His victims included people from South Africa, the United States, Portugal, Israel and Denmark.

DPP Wong said Zeng went to significant lengths to perpetrate the fraud and committed the offences out of pure greed, spending the money on himself.

She added: “The offences were committed at a time when competition for rental units in the market was high due to limited supply and high demand.”

Zeng has made restitution of about $29,800.

His lawyer, Mr Baburam Dayalan Naidu, told the court his money has been frozen in his bank account and he would return more money to his victims should these funds be released to him.

The court heard the amount Zeng repays his victims could affect the sentences asked for by the prosecution and defence.

Zeng is likely to return to court on July 26 for sentencing.

For each charge of cheating and dishonestly inducing another person to deliver property, he can be jailed for up to 10 years, fined or both.

It was previously reported the number of home rental scams via online platforms jumped fivefold in 2022 to 979 cases, from 192 cases in 2021.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.