Mt. Juliet, Tenn. – On Sunday, June 12, 2016 around 4:10 p.m., officers were summoned to the 2800 block of Meadow Glen after would-be home renters realized that they were just scammed by a man who was trying to rent a home he did not own. A couple responded to a Craigslist add about a home for rent and met a man to look at the property. The man, later identified as Saleem Willis, 36, of Mt. Juliet, gave a false name and showed the couple the property in an effort to rent it out. In addition, Willis told the couple to give him $90 for a rental background history check, and he would not show the home to anyone else.
After the couple left the false rental property, they did research and discovered the home was owned by someone else who had just moved to Florida. The couple returned to the property, and they discovered that Willis was showing the home to another family. Police were then summoned to the scene, and they located Willis at a nearby gas station.
Further investigation revealed that Willis collected $125 from the second family who thought they were paying for a renter’s application fee. A real estate sign, removed from the property by Willis, was discovered in his vehicle. It was determined that Willis previously had access to the property because he was a subcontractor to paint the home.
Willis was arrested and booked into the Wilson County Jail, charged with Theft of Property, Aggravated Criminal Trespass, and Deceptive Business Practice.
Saleem Willis, 35, of Mt. Juliet
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