Local News

Dorchester man facing fraud charges, allegedly stole thousands through room rental scam

Bruno Vieira Ferreira, 23, is facing numerous charges, including larceny and forgery.

April 8, 2024

2 minutes to read

A Dorchester man is facing numerous charges of larceny and forgery in connection with a scam in which authorities allege he stole thousands of dollars from people who believed they were paying deposits on a room for rent.

Bruno Vieira Ferreira, 23, was arraigned last month on a single charge of larceny over $1,200 by false pretense in the West Roxbury division of Boston Municipal Court, but the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office said in a statement that he is also facing numerous other charges including larceny, larceny by false pretense, forgery, and uttering a false check in the Dorchester and Central divisions of Boston Municipal Court.

Prosecutors allege that over several weeks in January and February the 23-year-old collected deposits, ranging from $450 to $1,800, from at least six people who responded to a listing on Facebook Marketplace for a room for rent at 9 Taft St. in Dorchester.

“This was a brazen, ongoing scam using a social media marketplace and digital or cash payments that was all too easy to fall for, and numerous victims did,” Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement. “Consumers need to be hyper-vigilant when it comes to property rentals of any kind because scammers are very good at using sites like Facebook Marketplace to advertise seemingly legitimate housing situations, all with the goal of fleecing trusting respondents.”

Hayden’s office said the deposits from the victims were made in cash and through Zelle; Ferreira allegedly collected $10,350 from the individuals who believed they were making deposits as potential tenants for the room.

“When the victims inquired about their scheduled move-in dates, Ferreira would give various excuses why they couldn’t move in, including saying that existing tenants hadn’t moved out so no space was available, or that family members of his had died and he couldn’t move out,” the DA’s office said. “Ferreira refused to refund any payments.”

In early February, police responded to 9 Taft St. for a report of a landlord-tenant dispute and at the scene, prosecutors said two men told officers they’d signed and paid a $3,600 lease agreement for an apartment at the address. They told officers they encountered a resident at the address who told them he lived in the apartment they’d signed a lease for and it was not available.

“The resident said numerous other people had come to the home claiming to have paid deposits for the same apartment,” the DA’s office said. “The resident told police that he believed that one of his roommates, later identified as Ferreira, had been advertising the room and scamming respondents.”

Police were called to the same address a few days later for a similar dispute where a man told officers he’d paid Ferreira, $1,350 for a room with a February 1 move-in date but was then not allowed to move in. Detectives later found a sign in the lobby in the building that prosecutors said read: “Hello, if you are looking for a Bruno or have had money taken by him, we have no information either. There are multiple police reports on this case, and an eviction notice has been sent.”

Ferreiro was arrested on Feb. 28 at a new apartment on Exeter Street.

He will return to court in West Roxbury on April 19 to face some of the charges against him, according to the DA’s office.