Brothers Arrested in Alleged Rental Scam

Two La Canada brothers accused of operating a bogus home-finding service were arrested Friday at their Balboa Boulevard office, the Los Angeles city attorney’s office announced. One of the brothers had already been ordered to stand trial on charges of operating a similar scam out of Sherman Oaks.

Gregory Mark Schwartz, 21, and Jeff Andrew Schwartz, 26, were being held in Van Nuys Jail in lieu of $10,000 bond, said Deputy City Atty. Mark Lambert.

The brothers are charged with three counts each of grand theft and one count of operating an unlicensed pre-paid rental listing service. In addition, Gregory Schwartz is charged with three counts of making false and misleading statements, while Jeff Schwartz faces two counts of the same charge.

Based on an investigation conducted by the Department of Real Estate, the brothers were charged Tuesday and a judge issued a warrant for their arrest Thursday, Lambert said.

West Coast Credit, at 7834 Balboa Blvd., supposedly offered assistance to those seeking apartments and houses to rent. For a fee of $175, customers received a list of rental properties and a promise that most of the fee would be returned if West Coast failed to find a suitable rental property, Lambert said.

But customers complained that the company failed to offer them a suitable rental and would not refund the fees.

A charge of making false and misleading statements stems from advertisements the brothers ran in publications such as the Los Angeles Times, Daily News, Penny Saver and the Recycler.

It is the second such arrest this summer for Gregory Schwartz. In August he was arrested and charged in a case stemming from another home-finding business that operated as Global Management in Sherman Oaks.

He pleaded not guilty in that case, which is set for trial Oct. 20.

Lambert warned consumers to be careful when dealing with rental listing services. His department recently filed three other cases against rental listing services that allegedly victimized at least 200 people. “The public should be very careful when doing business with rental listing services to make sure that they’re properly licensed,” he said.

Customers should contact the Department of Consumer Affairs, the Department of Real Estate and the Better Business Bureau to determine if complaints have been filed against a business before paying money up front, Lambert said.