Texas

Tip leads to man suspected in Craigslist car scams:

Police in Texas have arrested 24-year-old Fadel Eric Assane. He is suspected in having scammed at least 30 people out of their cars that they were selling on craigslist. Assane would convince his victims that money transfers from banks had taken place and he would drive off with their cars and titles.

Two Elderly Men Accused of Running Prostitution Ring:

Robert Gibson and Richard Nash of Mission, Texas, both old guys, have been charged with running a prostitution ring. It’s alleged that the pair were running massage parlors out of their houses that advertised on craigslist.

No, they weren’t the ones giving the massages.

People trying to buy their way out of community service:
According to the article some people in the San Antonio area are trying to buy their way out of doing community service for various offenses.

“I thought you were pulling my leg or something. I thought, ‘Nobody is going to advertise on CraigsList for doing community service hours. It just isn’t going to happen,’” said Paul Kosierowski, deputy chief of adult probation for Bexar County.

However, KENS 5 found three advertisements on CraigsList.org dealing with community service hours. Two of the posters blatantly offered cash if a nonprofit organization would sign off on their hours or help perform them.

And yes, in case you were wondering, it is illegal…

First Assistant District Attorney Cliff Herberg says the postings are a blatant violation of state law, and if the people are caught, they could face anything from a Class A misdemeanor to a state jail felony.

Craigslist Apartment Scam Suspect Arrested:
Police in Austin, Texas have arrested Francisco David Garza. He’s been scamming college kids into renting apartments on craigslist. The problem is Garza didn’t own or rent the apartments.

A local real estate agent has some helpful tips.

“If you’re gonna sublease with somebody, you want to be very diligent about it,” said David Kline of Kline Properties. “You should ask to see their copy of their lease, and go and talk with the owner and make sure that the owner approves of the sublease. Anytime that you’re subleasing a unit, you are not going to be putting an additional deposit down. Your are not going to be putting additional rent down.”