A man suspected of having an affair dangled a Tesla and apartment keys as bait to hook “multiple” victims in New Jersey, authorities said.
According to police, maintenance man John Delvalle allegedly posted fraudulent property information on Facebook, showed vacant rooms that he claimed to own, and stole security deposits from prospective renters. He allegedly defrauded them of $14,000.
A Hackensack resident traded his apartment for a car and scammed at least three people, one of whom sold him a rented 2019 Tesla Model 3 and defrauded one of them out of $7,000, Garfield Police Officer Mario Pozo said. A police inspector told the paper.
“He killed at least three people in his Tesla and many more in his apartment,” Pozo estimated.
Del Valle, 48, worked as a plumber at the Maple Street complex and had been given master keys to the apartments, so he “knew which apartments were vacant,” the chief said.
Del Valle collected a $2,500 deposit and also made the ducks sign fake rental agreements and gave them useless keys, Pozo said.
Pozo said the scam was discovered in November when Del Valle posted fake rental listings for the complex where he worked on Facebook Marketplace.
Police charged Del Valle with theft by deception on Nov. 28, Pozo said, but he was issued a summons under New Jersey's bail reform law and released after the incident.
Mr. Del Valle was charged again on December 13th with the same fraud.
But public records show he was in and out of the Bergen County Jail within days.
The Hackensack man then tried his luck in the car market, allegedly listing the Tesla for sale on Facebook Marketplace for $17,000.
The unidentified victim told police he gave Del Valle $7,000 and a Nissan Altima on Dec. 30 to secure an all-electric vehicle valued at $36,000.
Pozo said the victim drove the Tesla home, only to find it missing the next morning.
DelValle was found and taken into custody by an off-duty Garfield police officer near Saddlebrook Mall on January 5, authorities said.
Police charged Mr. Del Valle again with theft by deception and briefly cooled his heels in the Bergen County Jail before being released, according to police and court records.
“All we can do is do our part. We can't actually decide whether he stays in prison or not,” Pozo lamented.
Three more rogue apartment hunters have filed complaints with the Garfield Police Department, Pozo said, adding that the department is still receiving calls from alleged victims of both scams.
