Tenant identity fraud

[Dheeraj Raj]

Tenant toured my property and I had her submit the application through Zillow. The credit report, background check and everything came clean. Was also able to verify employment with employer, contacted previous landlord of the tenant and everything was smooth. So went ahead and signed the lease. We met to hand over the keys. I tried to validate everything via a conversation and found she lied about the occupants. She tried to cover up though and that was a red flag for me. I had her send me her driving license. To my astonishment, the photo in the ID did not match, moreover the height mentioned in the ID was no match at all. It’s a clear case of identity fraud. When i confronted her, she would not accept. She instead argues that she is going to involve her lawyer for racial discrimination, is she kidding me?

She submitted move-in costs and prorated rent via Zillow payment. It usually takes couple of days to process. I get an email next day from Zillow that the tenant account was flagged for not adhering to security protocols and the payment was declined to process. So now i dont have security deposit and prorated rent which are due on day one of the lease. It’s a total disaster for me now. But since the lease is already signed, What are my options? Can i file police report for identity fraud? Will also need to hire an attorney.

Agree i should have opted for a property manager to begin with, so lets not go. I am more keen on the next steps.