An arrest warrant has been issued for Shray Goel, a former vacation rental host accused of defrauding thousands of customers
According to an indictment attached to the warrant obtained by PEOPLE, Goel is charged with wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after allegedly using Airbnb, VRBO and other rental platforms to operate a “bait-and-switch double booking scheme” involving 100 properties in more countries.
Some of his listings were legitimate, others were outright fakes, according to the indictment. Some properties were allegedly listed at “addresses that had no residential structure, were unrelated to co-proposers, or did not exist at all.”
Goel and others working under him reportedly took more than 10,000 bookings in 2018 and 2019, bringing in $7 million.
To carry out the alleged fraud, the indictment alleges, they often posted multiple listings for the same property under various “fake host accounts,” resulting in multiple people booking a single rental. The guest who booked at the highest rate could actually stay at the property, and Goel would cancel all other reservations using a “false pretext” as to why the property was suddenly unavailable, according to the indictment.
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The host hands over the keys to the holiday apartment. PhotoAlto/Getty
He allegedly avoided paying cancellation fees or refunds for canceled bookings by providing the rental platform with false information about the details of the booking or whether the guest had actually completed the stay.
In other cases, he allegedly offered overbooked guests alternative accommodation that he claimed was of the same quality. According to the indictment, there were also cases in which he simply stopped contacting double-booked guests immediately before check-in, leaving them without accommodation.
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Goel also allegedly removed and then re-listed properties on the same sites to get rid of negative guest reviews and prevent them from being removed by the platform.
He also used fake guest accounts to leave misleading positive reviews, according to the indictment.
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In a statement to PEOPLE, an Airbnb spokesperson said, “Airbnb is built on trust and bad actors have no place in our community. We have supported the US Attorney’s Office and the FBI throughout their investigation to ensure accountability, and we are grateful for their work.”
“We have taken a number of steps to strengthen our defenses against fraudulent behavior, including measures such as identity checks and lists that we believe will help further deter the already rare instances of this type of activity,” they continued.
Goel did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment. The phone number listed on his professional website is no longer in service.
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