A fraudster who made Dh2 million by letting out flats without the knowledge of the owners was today sentenced to three years in prison.
Prosecutors told the Dubai Criminal Court that AS, a 38-year-old Pakistani salesman, conned several people by advertising the properties on the internet and showing interested tenants forged ownership documents.
One of the people he duped was a 63-year-old Jordanian teacher HS, who paid him more than Dh40,000.
The teacher was looking for a flat last March when he saw an advertisement for a flat in Jebel Ali.
"He showed us two apartments and claimed he was an agent for a property company," said HS. Two days later the salesman handed him the keys and contract as well as a copy of what he claimed was the ownership certificate.
In return, the teacher gave the salesman cheques for more than Dh40,000.
A month later, a representative of the flat's owner appeared at the teacher's door and told him the ownership documents he had been shown were forged.
The genuine owners evicted the teacher in July 2011 after a ruling by the rental dispute committee.
"I suffered for months and I lost the rental fees for two months and I was psychologically exhausted." said the teacher.
The salesman pleaded not guilty to forgery and unlawfully obtaining money from others when he appeared at the court in March. He will be deported following his prison term.
salamir@thenational.ae
