A real estate broker who says he’s been duped by condo ads that falsely claim to be a “real deal” is taking legal action.
Bob Devereaux of the National Real Estate Association says he found ads in a series of Craigslist ads in the Washington, D.C., area for condos that were “in fact fake condos.”
He says he alerted his company to the scam after being duped.
The ads, which he says were placed on Craigslist, advertised a $350,000 condo in an upscale neighborhood.
Devereux says he was duped and is suing Craigslist and Realtor.com, the online listings website.
The ads say the condo is for sale and included a photo of a real estate agent.
Deveraux says that’s not the agent.
“The photos were taken by a person who had no affiliation with me,” Devereau says.
“The photo was taken by someone who did not have a real real estate license.”
Devereaux says he called his company, Realtor.com.
He says they told him that his listing was fake and said he would be contacted.
Deveaux says after that call, he received a cease-and-desist letter from Realtor and told him he was no longer allowed to sell the condo.
“I was surprised and shocked,” Deveau says of Realtor’s actions.
“I was really upset.”
Realtor.co says it will refund Devereaus $10,000 for the false ads and refund the $350 he paid.
The company says it took down the fake listings after the law firm of the realtor contacted them and they contacted Craigslist and the real estate association.
Realtor says it is working with the law firms that sent the cease- and-desists letter.
