LOS ANGELES - A man and two women were charged last week with multiple counts of grand theft in connection with a sophisticated online rental scam involving more than a dozen victims.Keith Charles Adkins, 28; Charletta Ann Randle, 30; and Lisa Ann Brown, 48, were arraigned Nov. 10 at the Foltz Criminal Justice Center. Adkins, Randle and Brown are each charged with eight felony counts of grand theft of personal property. The three are accused of running a rental scam on Craigslist, an online network of free classified ads. They allegedly baited 16 victims with a rental ad and stole more than $15,500 in "security deposits." The victims uncovered the scam when they were unable to move into the rental property. Adkins faces an additional eight felony counts of prior petty theft. The charging document alleges that he has two felony convictions - a 2004 conviction of assault with intent to commit a felony and a 2001 robbery conviction. Randle and Brown are also charged with eight misdemeanor counts of petty theft. The criminal complaint alleges that Randle has a 2008 conviction for grand theft money and a 2004 counterfeit seal conviction. Bail for each of the defendants was recommended at $1 million.

********** Published: November 17, 2011 - Volume 10 - Issue 31