Woman claims she was scammed out of hundreds
'Mindy' said she should have known better, but promise of a good deal lured her in.
"$725 was the monthly rent with a $350 dollar deposit," 'Mindy said.
She said the low deposit should have been an indicator that this deal was not legit.
"Usually deposits are equal to the first months rent...needless to say I figured I was saving some money," she said.
But on the day 'Mindy' received the keys from Andrew Martinez, the man accused of scamming her out of hundreds of dollars, she soon realized she had just lost about $900 dollars.
"I ended up driving immediately to the house to see if the keys work....of course they didn't. I said, 'where do you go to begin to look for these people?"
'Mindy' went straight to San Juan police and they soon found a connection and were able to link 'Mindy's' story to other alleged victims throughout Hidalgo County.
"He was getting information on houses that were for rent and for sale," San Juan police Sergeant, Rudy Luna said.
Luna said Martinez placed an ad on Craigslist and when people wanted to see inside the home---police said he would call on the realtor and have the home unlocked---pretending to be an interested buyer.
"That's what realtors do. He took advantage of that," Luna said.
Martinez was arrested and charged with theft in both Alamo and San Juan.
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