Man accused in rental scam arrested again after News 12 investigation helps renters avoid losing money
Christian Quiceno, 31, was taken into custody Thursday in Jackson Heights, according to police. Exclusive video obtained by News 12 shows officers placing him in handcuffs.
A man previously exposed in a News 12 investigation into an alleged rental scam has been arrested again after police said he took deposits from at least two more people for the same Jackson Heights apartment.
Christian Quiceno, 31, was taken into custody Thursday in Jackson Heights, according to police. Exclusive video obtained by News 12 shows officers placing him in handcuffs.
“This is Christian Quiceno right here!” a person can be heard saying in the video.
“Alright, turn around!” an officer responds.
Police said a 57-year-old woman paid Quiceno approximately $1,800 to sublet an apartment on 84th Street. When she arrived, she discovered someone was already living there.
Twenty-four-year-old Arami Ruiz said she and her boyfriend also paid Quiceno $1,900 in cash for the same apartment.
“My boyfriend gets cash from the ATM. We pay him in cash,” Ruiz said.
Asked how soon she realized it may have been a scam, Ruiz said a relative raised concerns about the deal.
“One of our relatives says it sounds kind of fishy. So, we searched his name and I found everything. I found your report from News 12,” she said.
Ruiz said she then contacted Quiceno and told him she also wanted to pay the first month’s rent. They agreed to meet, but she first went to a police precinct in Queens.
“The detective there knew him already and said you guys are not the first to come and try to set him up with us, but let’s give it a try,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz and her boyfriend were there when police arrested Quiceno.
“When he got arrested, he looked at my boyfriend, and he told him why didn’t you just ask for the money? He said that, and my boyfriend was like, why so you can keep scamming people?” Ruiz said.
Quiceno is facing several charges, including grand larceny, issuing a false certificate, petit larceny, misapplication of property and harassment, according to police. Court records also list a scheme-to-defraud charge.
Shantee Hicks and Tracy Coles, a couple from the Bronx, said they nearly gave Quiceno money for the same apartment but found previous News 12 reports before paying him.
“I looked over the lease. I noticed there were some red flags. The amount that he asked for online was different from the lease,” Hicks said.
Hicks said she searched Quiceno’s name and found the investigation just in time.
Asked whether she would have paid him without seeing the report, she said, “Yeah. That’s how desperate I was.”
News 12 first exposed Quiceno after more than a dozen people across Queens, the Bronx and Brooklyn accused him of taking deposits for apartments they never received.
Since Quiceno was released from jail in March, dozens of other people have contacted News 12 saying they were victims or nearly became victims.
“Because I don’t want no one else to go through this,” Ruiz said when asked why she wanted to share her story.
Quiceno has several other cases pending in Queens and the Bronx. He is scheduled to appear in court Aug. 4.
