Defendant Must Also Pay $11,850 in Restitution
Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark today announced that a Bronx man has been sentenced to two to six years in prison and must pay more than $10,000 in restitution for scamming prospective renters and accepting payments for apartments he had no authority to lease.
District Attorney Clark said, “The defendant leveraged social media to lure his victims, taking advantage of their need to line his own pockets. The victims handed over thousands of dollars for apartments the defendant could not rent to them. My Office takes these cases seriously and this sentence holds the scammer accountable.”
District Attorney Clark said the defendant, Elijah Medina, 25, the Bronx, was sentenced on October 20, 2026, to two to six years in prison and ordered to pay $11,850 collectively in restitution by Bronx Supreme Court Justice Joseph McCormack. Medina pleaded guilty to Grand Larceny in the Third Degree on September 1, 2026.
According to the investigation, between July 2023 and August 2023, a Facebook Marketplace post advertising an apartment for rent led numerous victims to contact Medina. During those conversations, the defendant presented himself as a realtor with an available apartment and demanded thousands of dollars in payment for what he claimed were application fees, security deposits, and rent. Each of the victims agreed to rent the apartment and gave Medina the funds he demanded. Once he obtained the victims’ money, the defendant never provided keys, as he did not have permission to enter, show, or rent the apartment.
District Attorney Clark thanked retired NYPD Detective Kenneth Hines, formerly of the Bronx Grand Larceny Squad, for his assistance in the investigation. If you believe you have been the victim of a rent scam, please contact the Bronx District Attorney’s Office Civilian Complaint Unit at 718-838-7040.
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