Man cheated 62 victims from at least 12 countries of $383k in one of S’pore’s largest rental scams

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

Between Feb 8 and 13, 2022, the student paid $9,000 to secure the unit but before the agreed move-in date, Zeng, 29, claimed it was unavailable and offered to give 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.

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

Deputy Public Prosecutor Wong Shiau Yin said that between 2018 and 2020, Zeng was a sales executive at Singapore Housing Company, which specialises in the rental of accommodation. His job was to take photos of rental units and arrange 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.

Zeng continued with the scam even after being arrested – the first time on Feb 10, 2022 – and while out on bail twice.

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

The man had contacted him after seeing a listing by Zeng on Airbnb on Feb 4, 2022, and the pair agreed to rent 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 document 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 later move-in date or refund.

The victim asked for a one-week rental refund, which Zeng gave, but he did not rent him the unit later nor gave him a refund of the remaining money.

DPP Wong said the victim was forced to look for alternative accommodation.

A Singaporean man who fell victim contacted Zeng on May 11, 2022, and paid $7,000 the next day to rent a unit, signing a tenancy agreement purportedly issued by VLPO Consulting.

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

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

In June 2022, a Belgian international student was similarly duped by Zeng after arranging to rent several units for five students.

Over six occasions, between June 24 and July 5, 2022, the victims, who came from Britain and Switzerland, paid Zeng more than $16,600 as deposit for rental units he posted on Airbnb.

Zeng was arrested again on July 20 and charged in court the next day.

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

Zeng cheated six more victims between Aug 2 and Aug 28, 2022. Bail was revoked on Oct 5 and he has been in remand since.

His victims also 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 that Zeng’s bank account has been frozen and his client would return more money to his victims should these funds be released to him.

The court heard that 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 that the number of home rental scams via online platforms jumped fivefold in 2022 to 979 cases, from 192 cases in 2021.