Man arrested on suspicion of scamming renters found through Craigslist

A man suspected of scamming eight renters in Huntington Beach whom he found through Craigslist was arrested Wednesday, police said.

Huntington Beach police said the man agreed to rent a room to several people and collected security deposits and first month’s rent from all of them.

The man showed each person the room before collecting the money in cash, but when the people showed up on move-in day, they found the room was not available for rent, police said.

Authorities said the man received more than $15,000 from the would-be renters.

Phong Gia Nguyen, 32, of Westminster was arrested by the Police Department’s economic-crimes detectives on suspicion of theft by false pretense and grand theft, police said.

Nguyen, whose occupation is listed in jail records as a server, is being held in Orange County Jail without bail.

Detectives are seeking additional possible victims in the case. Anyone with information is asked to call Det. Jaime Lopez at (714) 536-5992.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN