By Jason Auslander, Aspen Times
A woman has scammed at least four different people out of thousands of dollars by renting them a posh home at 220 W. Hallam St. in Aspen’s West End, police said Friday.
The woman — who tells prospective renters her name is “Shawn Sullivan” and that she’s the owner or property manager — appears to be legitimate and has clearly done some research on the property, Aspen Police detective Ritchie Zah said. The woman’s e-mail corresponds to the name of the limited liability company listed as the owner in property records, he said.
However, Sullivan, or “Sully,” as she sometimes identifies herself, is clearly not the owner, as at least one renter discovered when he got to town and found out he had nowhere to stay, Zah said.
The most recent scam was reported to Aspen police Jan. 6, Zah said. That person wanted to rent a luxury home in Aspen and found an ad on Craigslist for the five-bedroom, five-bath, 4,790-square-foot home, he said. The victim signed a rental agreement and sent two $2,000 payments before going back to the listing to find it had been replaced by an ad identifying the offer as a scam.
Zah said he also investigated another rental scam at the same address Dec. 31, 2015, and twice before then.
The house was built in 2007 and most recently sold for $6.3 million in September 2014, according to Pitkin County property records. It is registered to a limited liability company in Mexico, records indicate.
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