Kimberly Vu posed as a real estate agent and received security deposits and first month’s rent from dozens of victims.
A Virginia woman has been indicted on dozens of charges related to a rental fraud scheme in which she posed as a real estate agent and fraudulently received deposits and first month’s rent on homes, townhomes, and rental units.
According to Loudoun County [Virginia] Kimberly Vu of the Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) was indicted by a county grand jury on May 18 on 26 charges related to rental fraud. She was then indicted on Monday on 15 additional counts of obtaining money under false pretenses.
Vu has also been charged with kidnapping a minor, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, and assault and battery, and is scheduled to appear at a hearing on those charges today. The kidnapping charge is classified as a second-degree felony, which, under Virginia law, can be punishable by “life imprisonment or imprisonment for not less than 20 years and…a fine of not more than $100,000.”
According to ABC affiliate WJLA in Washington, D.C., Sheriff Mike Chapman estimates Vu made more than $100,000 from the victims he defrauded, but it’s unclear how much of that money will be recovered.
“Whatever we can do from a criminal standpoint, we’re going to lock down her finances. But we don’t really know how much she has left and whether these people are going to get their money back,” he said.
Victims interviewed by WJLA described the real-world impact of losing thousands of dollars to Vu’s schemes.
“To go from being financially stable to drowning in the amount of money she took from us,” said Tiffany Najera, one of Vu’s victims. “We were already homeless.”
Email Christy Murdock
