Finding an affordable apartment in this housing market can certainly be a challenge. It was even more challenging for one viewer who reached out after she said she lost thousands to a man pretending to be a real estate agent.
"I didn't think I was going to cry," Sofía Mariscal said through tears of frustration, recounting how she and her family ended up without a home.
She said it all started last November when she and her boyfriend, Javier Aldana, were searching for a spacious apartment where they could raise their 1-year-old daughter.
That's when they say they were introduced to Saul Landaverde by a member of their church.
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"It's just hard because, you know, we're young parents, and the only thing we thought of was giving my daughter a room and having a place to live and being safe," she said.
In the Somerville police report, Aldana and Mariscal claim that Landaverde told them that he owned a renovated three-bedroom, one-bath apartment in Lynn that he could rent to them for $2,200 a month.
"He told us that the apartment would be ready Dec. 1, which is when our lease would be over," said Mariscal. "He gave us a full tour and then he told us, you know, 'If you want the apartment, we need the money as soon as possible so I can take it off the market.' And so, right away, we started collecting as much money as we can and working for it."
The young couple paid a total of $4,400 to Landaverde, according to Somerville police documents. But on moving day, Mariscal says she was left without a home.
"I called him to get the key, and he told me that the apartment had gone on fire," she said.
They spent three nights at a hotel and are now staying with Mariscal's mother.
"He took our money and does not want to return it," she said.
On Jan. 18, Aldana filed a police report in Somerville and requested a stay-away order.
"I don't know why I didn't do this earlier, but I Googled his phone number," Mariscal said. "That's where I found his construction company, and that's when I saw all the Yelp reviews of all the people he had scammed."
Through those online reviews, Mariscal met Egi Gjiakondi, the actual owner of the apartment she intended to rent. Gjiakondi filed a larceny report with the Lynn Police Department, stating that Landaverde tried to rent his apartment.
"Saul has advertised my property for rent and has stolen deposits from prospective clients," said Gjiakondi. "He was showing my apartment — pretty much stating that he was the landlord."
Gjiakondi had hired Landaverde to renovate his entire triple-decker in Lynn.
"He came to my property in Lynn, and then gave me a quote for a three-family renovation," he said. "I liked the quote that he gave me because it was a lot cheaper than other contractors that were calling me for the project."
Gjiakondi told NBC10 Boston the first unit renovation was a success, but then he says things went south when Landaverde started working on the second unit.
"The project was way delayed. It was done like 60 days after the date that he promised he was going to get done. He started working on the third-floor apartment. Didn't get much done there," he said. "After communicating with him 45 days, he just kind of stopped responding."
The Lynn police report indicates that Gjiakondi lost tens of thousands of dollars.
"I had given him 100% for labor, and he had purchased all my materials. So, at that time, it was very hard for me to kind of fire him, because I know I was so deep in the hole with him as far as him having all my money," said Gjiakondi.
Gjiakondi shared his frustration on social media where he soon realized he was not alone.
"The reviews are definitely beneficial because we found a lot of victims that were impacted that we didn't know about," said Gjiakondi.
"What we're really fighting for is for him to just, you know, get caught, be in jail and pay for these consequences, because it's not fair that he's still doing this to people," said Mariscal.
Landaverde now faces larceny charges in Lynn, Somerville and Malden.
Other court cases include one involving an incomplete kitchen renovation in a Malden home and two other complaints from prospective renters who paid deposits for apartments they never got access to.
Landaverde denied all charges in Lynn, but has yet to file a plea in the Somerville and Malden cases. He is now going through pre-trial hearings.
NBC10 Boston reached out to Landaverde and his attorneys several times for comment. After weeks without a response, we knocked on his door to give him an opportunity to comment, and his wife informed us that he wasn't home.
Shortly after, one of his attorneys reached out declining to comment.
The Massachusetts Attorney General's Office said they have received at least six complaints against Saul Landaverde and his construction company, SV construction Corp. Those complaints include incomplete home renovation projects and unpaid subcontractors.
Landaverde's home improvement contractor license expired on July 15. He has one active complaint filed against him with the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.
