Fraudsters dupe a man in Sharjah with fake offer of cheap residential unit, jailed for a year

Sharjah Court of Appeal sentenced three people to one year in jail to be followed by deportation on charges of fraudulently seizing money from a person by giving him the impression that they could rent out a residential unit they did not own.

The defendants took advantage of an advertisement published on social media platforms offering the apartment for rent at an attractive price to lure the victim.

Earlier, the victim saw the advertisement and contacted the numbers listed before he inspected the apartment and agreed to rent it from one of the defendants.

He paid part of the rent and submitted the required documents, pending the issuance of the lease contract and completion of the necessary procedures.

Subsequently, one of the defendants sent the victim a copy of a lease contract, claiming it was the official contract proving his right to use the apartment.

Immediately after receiving the contract, the victim wanted to verify its authenticity with the concerned authorities but he discovered that the residential unit belonged to someone else and that the details in the contract did not match the official records, at which time he realized he had fallen victim to fraud.

He consequently filed a report with the competent authorities, detailing the incident and the initiated investigations culminated in the accused being referred to the judiciary.

Sharjah Misdemeanors Court sentenced the defendants to three months in jail to be followed by deportation and the items seized in the case to be confiscated.

The Public Prosecution, however, appealed the ruling, and the Court of Appeal increased the penalty to one-year imprisonment to be followed by deportation and upheld the ruling regarding the confiscation of the items.