An Easton man was indicted by a grand jury Thursday afternoon on charges that he swindled more than $100,000 out of would-be homeowners in a "rent to own" scheme he ran out of his own house, the attorney general’s office said today.
Joshua Leventhal, 42, was indicted on four counts of larceny over $250 and larceny by a single scheme.
"We allege this defendant deceived consumers into believing his program would result in easy homeownership," Attorney General Martha Coakley said in a statement. "This defendant allegedly preyed on the vulnerable and then stole their money for his own benefit, leaving some consumers essentially homeless."
According to authorities, Leventhal targeted first-time homebuyers and consumers with poor credit primarily through online advertisements, allegedly posting thousands of online ads that included deceptive claims, like : "Our rent2own program WILL turn you into a homeowner ASAP," and "Rent 2 Own WILL Turn You Into A Homeowner Even If You Have Bad Credit and/or No Down Payment."
On a now-defunct website, he also fabricated customer testimonials, authorities said. He described his rent-to-own program as a way for first-time homebuyers or people with poor credit to rent property through a complicated agreement with the homeowner, which would allow the buyer to later purchase the property for a set price and for a portion of each monthly check to be set aside for the renter to use as a deposit for that purchase, the attorney general’s office said.
Once Leventhal convinced potential customers of the legitimacy of his scheme, he charged them an enrollment fee ranging from $150 to $2,000 and in some cases even received deposit money from his customers between $4,350 to $7,000, authorities said.
According to the attorney general’s office, Leventhal kept the money for his own personal use. He swindled nearly 100 customers, of which three wound up actually occupying a property and not one ever purchased a property under his program, authorities said.
A Statewide Grand Jury returned indictments against Leventhal yesterday. He will be arraigned at a later date in Bristol Superior Court.
