Sheriff: "Fake" Landlord Tricked Nearly A Dozen Upstate Renters
NOT HIS FIRST TIME COMMITTING FRAUD. GREENVILLE CO.
ARREST RECORD BELOW ... SERVED 1 YEAR
HIS FULL NAME IS: ANTHONY CHETLERGH WILLIAMS
Deputies arrested Anthony Williams, after he continued the alleged scam for months
February 15, 2013
EASLEY, S.C.
Nearly a dozen Easley residents are looking for a new place to live, after they say they were tricked by a "fake" landlord. "He fooled us all," says renter Danielle Estes. She, like many others, moved into a mobile home park off Avalon Lane in Easley last month, and was immediately impressed with the man who called himself the landlord. "He said he was working to be a pastor," she remembers. "Who wouldn't trust someone who says they're a man of God?"
But Pickens County Sheriff Rick Clark says the man, 38 year old Anthony Williams, had no ownership over the property at all, and was not the rightful landlord. "He was essentially out to get these people's money," says Sheriff Clark.
According to the Sheriff's Office, Williams was asked by the actual property owner to "look after" the land for an extended period of time. During that time, investigators say Williams began to rent out mobile homes in the park, "portraying himself as the land owner."
Warrants allege he convinced at least 7 residents to pay him $600 dollars a month in rent, that was to include water and power utilities.
Resident Susan Place says there were a couple of red flags. "When we first came to look at the place in December and move in, he didn't have a key," she says. "He told us he was getting new ones made."
The Sheriff's Office says the scam was discovered when the actual landlord showed up, and saw that people were living in the mobile homes that were supposed to be empty.
Estes and Place both say they've now been told they have to vacate their homes within five to ten days. "I don't know what we're going to do," says Estes. "You don't know who to trust."
Anthony Williams has been charged with seven counts of obtaining goods under false pretenses. He was released from the Pickens County Detention Center on $14,000 bond.
Sheriff Clark says the case should serve as a warning to others about researching the places you plan to live in. "You should do your homework on a landlord just like they would on you. Running a background check would not be a bad idea," says Clark.
Charges
Sentencing
1 YR.