Man Sentenced for New York Vacation Rental Home Scam

An upstate New York man has been sentenced to three years in prison and ordered to pay back more than $100,000 he bilked out of people in a vacation home rental scam.

Federal prosecutors say 58-year-old Henry Dean III, of Beaver Dams in Schuyler County, was sentenced for his conviction on wire fraud charges.

Prosecutors say Dean defrauded about 20 people out of nearly $140,000 between 2014 and 2016 by offering vacation properties in the Finger Lakes region for rent.

Authorities say he advertised the properties on internet rental websites. One of the rentals he offered was undergoing significant construction, while another was owned by a person who wasn’t offering it for rent.

After receiving deposits from customers, Dean would cancel the reservations and refuse to refund the payments.