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John K. DelValle, a 48-year-old bodybuilder from Hackensack, made it all appear genuine by having the victims sign worthless rental agreements, police said.
Then he handed them the master keys that he'd been given for work.
DelValle also conned another unwitting victim out of $7,000 -- and a car -- by "selling" him a Tesla that he was renting, Garfield Police Capt. Mario X. Pozo said.
Garfield police have arrested DelValle three times in the past two months for the same crime. He was released each time under New Jersey's bail reform law, records show.
This includes a judge freeing the Filipino national within hours of his being sent to the Bergen County Jail on Friday, Jan. 5.
It all began early last November, when DelValle -- posing as the owner -- posted fake rental listings on Facebook Marketplace for the Maple Street complex where he worked, Pozo said.
The first victims called police and told them they gave DelValle $2,500 as a deposit after signing what they thought was a legitimate lease agreement.
Police arrested DelValle, charged him with theft by deception and released him on a summons under New Jersey's bail reform law following the Nov. 28 incident, Pozo said.
Since then, three more victimized apartment hunters filed complaints, the captain said.
"In each separate incident, the victims were shown an empty apartment within the complex, signed a fraudulent lease, made cash deposits and were given keys," Pozo said.
Police arrested DelValle again on Dec. 13 and charged him this time with multiple theft-by-deception counts. He was sent to the Bergen County Jail only to be ordered released by a judge days later, records show.
Things were quiet until Dec. 30, when a different kind of victim went to Garfield police.
This one told them that he responded to a Facebook Marketplace for a 2019 Tesla Model 3 for sale for $17,000 (it had also been posted on Offerup.com, Pozo said).
The victim told police he gave DelValle $7,000 in cash and his Nissan Altima to hold until he could come up with the rest of the money. He drove the Tesla home, then woke up the next morning to find it gone.
The Altima, which he reported stolen, was found abandoned in Maplewood, Pozo said.
Detective Sebastian Tyburski quickly obtained an arrest warrant for DelValle, who lives in the Continental Parc Condos on Polifly Road in Hackensack.
Off-duty Officer Daniel Pozo spotted him near the Saddle Brook Mall on Friday, Jan. 5. He called Saddle Brook police, who seized DelValle on the warrant and turned him over to their colleagues in Garfield.
DelValle was again charged with theft by deception and again sent to the Bergen County Jail.
He was a free man again by dinnertime.
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NOTE: Garfield Police Chief Richard Uram urged anyone who may have fallen victim to a similar scam involving DelValle to call Tyburski at (973) 478-8500, ext. 4113. Identities will remain confidential.
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