San Francisco model scammed by fake NYC landlord

Key Takeaways:

• A model pursuing his fashion career in New York City was scammed out of more than $6,000.
• The apartment in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen had multiple victims claiming to have rented it.
• Nicholas “Nick” Fuelling, 43, is now wanted by NYPD for posing as a landlord.
• The fraud was discovered when another renter reached out, claiming the same apartment.
• A GoFundMe campaign is helping the model recover his financial losses.

Introduction

San Francisco model Miguel Marchese arrived in New York City this August with big dreams of advancing his modeling and fashion career. His excitement was short-lived: what seemed like a promising sublet deal in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen turned into a costly hoax that has left him shaken, yet determined to move forward.

The Deal That Was Too Good to Be True

Marchese first saw the apartment advertised on Facebook Marketplace. Encouraged by its appealing location at 334 West 47th St., he arranged a tour and met the man calling himself the landlord, Nicholas “Nick” Fuelling. Two days later, Fuelling contacted Marchese to say he was chosen above other prospective renters and asked him to sign a lease through Docusign.

“I look at the lease and everything seems legit,” Marchese recalled in an Instagram video. Convinced it was a genuine opportunity, he sent $3,200 as a security deposit and another $3,200 as the first month’s rent using CashApp.

The Discovery

Shortly after, Marchese began searching for roommates to share the two-bedroom space. He soon discovered an all-too-familiar story from another would-be renter who also claimed the apartment was hers and had made a deposit. “We figured all this out. I discovered that we had just been scammed,” Marchese said.

The startling realization continued when a third renter emerged with the same predicament, further confirming that Fuelling had victimized multiple people using the same unit.

The Aftermath

When Marchese tried to confront Fuelling at the apartment, he found no sign of him. The scam was reported to the police, and Fuelling, 43, is now wanted by the New York City Police Department. Officials have warned other renters to stay vigilant, with New York City Councilman Erik Bottcher stating, “People just have to be really, really vigilant when subletting an apartment.”

Meanwhile, Marchese has been forced to stay with a friend while absorbing this financial blow. “What makes this even worse is that this wasn’t just some random mistake. It was a calculated scam,” he wrote online. His emotional distress has been high, but so has his resolve: “Throughout my life, I’ve always faced adversity.”

Ongoing Investigation and Support

To help cover his losses and rebuild his finances, a GoFundMe campaign was set up for Marchese. Supporters have rallied around him as he tries to regain his footing and continue pursuing his modeling career in New York. In the meantime, the NYPD’s search for Fuelling continues, with authorities urging anyone who has information about his whereabouts to come forward.

Despite the setback, Marchese remains hopeful, noting that each challenge fuels his drive: “Trials and tribulations have molded me into a resilient, witty, and tenacious individual,” he shared on social media. The swift backlash to this scam and narrow brush with becoming homeless underscores the risks and vulnerabilities of finding housing in a competitive market like New York City.