Conman who posed as flat owner gets six months in jail

The Pakistani defendant forged ownership certificates for three apartments in Al Barsha, Dubai, and disappeared after receiving up-front payments, the court heard.

DUBAI // A 26-year-old man who forged ownership certificates for three apartments in Al Barsha and took upfront payments of Dh123,000 from a buyer, has been jailed for six months.

Pakistani A A forged the ownership documents last year and then posed as the owner of the flats to offer them for sale.

The victim, fellow-Pakistani M A, 36, said his friend put him in touch with A A after he expressed interest in buying property in Dubai.

“I informed my partner, who was in Dubai, to meet the owner on my behalf and when he did, the defendant told him that he was selling two flats, one for his mother and one for himself,” said M A.

“I then agreed on the sale and price and had my partner pay Dh41,000 as an upfront payment for the first flat, and Dh27,000 for the second flat.”

The defendant then called and said he had a third flat to sell. The two agreed on a figure and M A paid a Dh55,000 deposit for the third flat.

The contracts were signed, but afterwards A A stopped taking M A’s calls and stalled in changing the ownership.

“We then visited the Land Department and found out his ownerships were forged,” said M A, who called police.

A A will be deported after serving his sentence.