ALOHA, Ore. — A Beaverton man was arrested for placing false ads on Craigslist advertising his mother’s Aloha home as a rental, according to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
On June 26, 40-year-old Bradley Samuel Philan of Beaverton, was arrested for scamming people out of more than $13,000 since the beginning of May, according to investigators. They believe there may be more victims who have yet to come forward.
"As of right now we know of 7 or 8 [people] but we believe there are a lot more," said Sgt. Danny DiPietro with the Washington County Sheriff's Office. "We believe there are other people out there scammed by this, gave him money and walked away and threw their hands up or were reimbursed by a family member."
Deputies began an investigation into Philan after his family reported the crime. Philan's family had already reimbursed two separate victims for more than $7,000 from the rental scams.
Philan told authorities that he placed the ads on Craigslist for his mother’s house on Southwest 172nd Avenue. He would offer to take the victims on a tour of the house and then collect the deposit and first month's rent, often totaling a few hundred dollars. He said he would sometimes refund the victim’s money but often would gamble the money away, the sheriff's office said.
The victims paid Philan electronically using Square or Venmo, investigators said.
Philan was logged into the Washington County Jail and charged with first-degree aggravated theft and six counts of first-degree theft by deception.
Anyone who believes they may be a victim or has any information about the incident is asked to call the Washington County Sheriff’s Office non-emergency dispatch number at 503-629-0111.