Woman Arrested for Fake Rental Scam in Jacksonville

Saderria Johnson, a 34-year-old resident of Jacksonville, was arrested in connection with allegations of a fake rental scam that lasted for more than approximately two years. According to officials' statements, as a result of the fraud attempts carried out by Johnson, each of the victims suffered financial losses ranging from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The incident unfolded during a routine traffic stop on 3 July on Arlington Caddesi. Traffic police noticed that a passenger sitting in the front seat was not wearing a seatbelt and pulled the vehicle over. The officer who stopped the vehicle recognized the passenger from previous incidents, confirming she was Johnson, and an ordinary traffic stop opened the doors to a major fraud case.

According to the information obtained by the authorities, Johnson introduced herself as a homeowner or property manager. She posted rental house listings especially on popular social media platforms like Facebook Marketplace and Facebook Messenger. However, she had neither ownership authority nor a legal renting permit for any of the houses in question. Victims were deceived with fake identities and fabricated contracts, and security deposits and upfront rental fees were collected from them. While carrying out these transactions, Johnson sometimes managed to project a more professional image by operating under fake names and using the names of non-existent real estate companies. It is reported that she made it harder to trace her steps by receiving victims' payments via digital money transfer apps like CashApp and Zelle.

In the first complaint dating back to Nisan 2023, a woman realized she had been scammed after seeing an online rental listing for a house on Dandy Caddesi. The woman, who contacted the person who posted the listing, agreed with Johnson, who was active under a fake name on Facebook, and made a payment for the house, moving into it with her children and spouse. However, the family later learned that the house was not actually for rent and that they were trespassers, facing the threat of being thrown out onto the street. In a second incident in Nisan 2023, a victim who made a payment after a virtual tour for an apartment on Bert Caddesi arrived at the building in the evening to move in and saw that it was full of drug users. When this victim received a response from the real owner of the house stating that the apartment was not for rent, she realized she had been scammed, and it was recorded that a total amount of more than 1.154 dollars was stolen in the incident in question.

The third incident, which occurred in the date of Mayıs 2023, emerged through the exploitation of an ongoing renovation in an empty house. Police teams, who went to an empty house on Cesery Bulvarı upon a burglary report, found two male individuals inside the house. During the interrogation, the individuals stated that they regularly paid rent to Johnson for this house and believed they were living there legally. Upon this, the real owner of the house, who was called to the scene, stated that the property had been vacant for about two years and was undergoing an extensive renovation, confirming that the individuals in question had entered illegally. It was revealed that the second individual was Johnson's cousin, and this person directed investigators to an apartment complex where they believed Johnson lived. However, although the police could not find Johnson at that address, a court subpoena was issued, CashApp records were examined, and it was confirmed that the payments were made directly to Johnson's account.

In the most recent victimization case added to Johnson's file and officially documented in 2026, the amount lost reached 1.150 dollars. In this incident, Johnson introduced herself to her victim as an employee of a fictional real estate company named 'B G Realty'. The victim stated that they made two separate payments of 750 and 400 dollars via the Zelle app in order to rent the house, but realized they had been scammed after receiving an eviction notice. It was learned that the organization named 'B G Realty' is also at the center of a separate fraud investigation being conducted by the Florida Başsavcılık Ofisi. Due to these large-scale fraud acts, Saderria Johnson faces many serious charges, including attempted organized fraud, fraud via digital communication, false marketing of rental properties, and extortion of personal property. Authorities warn all citizens to be vigilant against similar fraud attempts and to ensure that rental transactions are carried out accompanied by official documents.