Fransisco and Seble Ayehu

Victim Location 78665

Type of a scam Rental

Fransisco Ayehu is claiming to own the property on 3147 Jazz St. Round Rock TX and advertising on Craigslist a rent of $700 per month, utilities included. Of course it sounded too good to be true, but I contacted the ad anyway, just in case. He said he was out of town due to a recent job promotion so I would have to go look at the house on my own and look through the windows. When I got to the house, there was a lock box on the door and a Real estate agency sign in the yard. I called the real estate company and they said they worked for the "broker" and could not confirm that Fransisco was in fact the owner. He claimed the realty sign was from when he was originally trying to sell the house, but had changed his mind and wanted to rent it out on his own now. He gave me his "employer" – UNESCO, and said they were paying for the utilities on the house and that’s why they were included. I proceeded with the renters application, I was approved the same day, and the Lease agreement was sent the following day. The agreement said all payments were to be made through MoneyGram (because his daughter worked there and could sent the keys immediately). A deposit of $700 was to be sent before receiving the keys to the property -which he would send on his Fedex account, and an additional $700 for the first months rent was to be sent. I tried to make a deal with him, that I would send $100 if he would send me the keys, and I would send the rest of the deposit when I received them, but he would not agree to that. I told him I was consulting with a friend before signing the lease, and that I felt uncomfortable sending money without having seen the inside of the house. So far I have not heard back from him. Although I never actually lost any money, I have no doubts that this was a scam and I would like to report him to prevent someone else from being stolen from.