He allegedly set up appointments with potential tenants, met with them, showed them an apartment and collected security deposits and rents.
The only problem is Ronald Burkhart was not the rental agent for the River Forest apartment, authorities said.
Burkhart, 47, a member of the Latin Disciples street gang, was arrested Wednesday.
Two victims identified him as the man who took a total of $2,550 in June while posing as a rental agent for an apartment in the 1500 block of North Harlem Avenue, police said.
Police say Burkhart was never on the apartment lease at the building, but had lived there with a girlfriend. After the woman was given an eviction notice, she abandoned the apartment but kept the keys.
Burkhart then placed an advertisement for the apartment and arranged meetings with two prospective renters. He allegedly took prepaid rent and deposits from both people after showing them the apartment, using his girlfriend's keys, police said.
Burkhart, who already was being held in lieu of $40,000 bail on unrelated theft charges, had another bond hearing Thursday morning in Maywood.
Burkhart has a criminal history dating back to at least 1992, when he pleaded guilty to aggravated criminal sexual assault and was sentenced to 12 years. He was sentenced to a year in prison in 2005 for failing to register as a sex offender.
In River Forest this week, he was charged with two counts of theft by deception, a Class 3 felony.
Color Photo: Ronald Burkhart
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