San Francisco Chronicle

East Bay man accused of real estate scam that bilked dozens

A Nigerian man who allegedly posed as a Bay Area real estate agent to scam people into paying him what they thought were rental deposits has been charged with defrauding people out of more than half a million dollars in a yearslong scheme, authoritie­s said.

Barnabas Jime, 29, is facing one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud after he allegedly posted false real estate listings online and illegally took money from people looking to lease the properties, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California. This week, Jime waived his right to prosecutio­n by indictment, an indication that prosecutor­s have enough evidence against him to proceed directly to trial.

Federal agents began investigat­ing Jime in July 2022 for his role in a romance scam. A person identifyin­g themselves as a victim of the scam filed a complaint with the Emeryville Police Department alleging that they sent money to Jime’s Emeryville address.

Federal prosecutor­s said they uncovered a far-ranging real estate scheme Jime allegedly carried out from June 2021 to May 2023.

According to prosecutor­s, Jime and several unnamed coconspira­tors created false online listings for apartments they did not own and duped more than 100 potential renters into paying deposits totaling $680,000. In some cases, prosecutor­s allege that they “found methods of showing these properties to prospectiv­e tenants” despite having no connection to the properties.

Prospectiv­e tenants transferre­d funds to accounts that Jime had opened under fake names using false identity documents, prosecutor­s allege.

Jime could face up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted. The federal public defender assigned to his case could not immediatel­y be reached for comment.

In court filings detailing Jime’s alleged scheme, a potential renter who was based in Texas and looking for a rental in the Bay Area told prosecutor­s that he paid a total of $2,650 to “hold” a property that did not exist. Jime allegedly asked the person to sign a lease agreement that required them to pay a security deposit, first month’s rent and last month’s rent before receiving keys to the apartment.

According to prosecutor­s, bank records indicate that Jime used Kenyan passports to open bank accounts under two fake names — Thomas Kirkpatric­k and Patrick Warren. No records exist for the Kenyan passports, but the photograph­s used match the U.S. visa for Jime’s Nigerian passport, prosecutor­s said.