A rental scammer who stole nearly £20,000 from two of National Fraud Helpline solicitors’ clients is facing jail.
The fraudster lived the life of luxury after posing as a landlord to scam desperate tenants out of tens of thousands of pounds.
Frenchman Samy Daim, 28, advertised luxury London properties he did not own, collected substantial deposits from his victims and then disappeared.
Daim asked for up to a year’s rent upfront along with a 25 percent deposit before vanishing with the cash.
The fraud allowed him to enjoy the high life at exotic locations around the world.
Photos show him feeding an elephant in Thailand and posing next to an infinity pool.
In another picture Daim sits on the roof of a jeep beside the beach at Key West in Florida.
Judge Silas Reid was due to sentence Daim at Inner London Crown Court last week for two counts of fraud by false representation.
He admitted the charges which refer to two properties he rented out in Southwark last August when he rented out a property ‘he had no right or intention of renting out, intending to make a gain, namely £1,9730, for yourself’.
Daim was not in court today as he was not produced from HMP Wormwood Scrubs due to an error.
Judge Reid adjourned sentencing until 17 June.
Daim has now been charged with nine further counts of fraud relating to a total value of £164,720 for nine victims.
He will appear at Croydon Magistrates Court on 6 June to face those charges but has indicated he will be pleading guilty.
Martin Richardson, senior partner at National Fraud Helpline solicitors, which helped two of Daim’s victims recover their money through bank reimbursement claims, said: ‘It is so rare that fraudsters are caught and convicted so we are very pleased that justice has been done.
‘With the crisis in the housing market, rent fraud is a growing problem. Wherever there is desperation fraudsters will appear to exploit the situation.
‘One of our clients had to leave London as a result of the scam and was forced to live in a caravan until we successfully recovered his money.
‘Daim’s actions caused a dire financial and emotional toll on his victims.
‘We believe that this case also demonstrates that more needs to be done by everyone to fight the scourge of fraud. You have to question how Daim was able to sign up with a letting agency and have the property he didn’t own posted for rent on online property platforms.
‘Someone should have carried out a simple Land Registry check which would have shown he did not own the property.’
The story appeared appeared in the national media.
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