A Utah woman is accused of retaliating against a former apartment manager who evicted her by listing the woman’s apartment for rent.
Elisa Jo Nelson, 26, of South Jordan was charged with fraudulently advertising a real estate property, a second-degree felony. She was also charged with unlawful online impersonation, a Class A misdemeanor, and electronic communication harassment, a Class B misdemeanor.
The charges stem from a February 2025 harassment complaint made by a woman who said that her home had been listed as available online for $950 a month without her consent. The listing included the woman’s personal phone number, resulting in a flood of unwanted calls from prospective renters.
The South Jordan Police Department traced the listing to an IP address in Magna, UT, that was linked to Nelson.
When asked about her connection to Nelson, the victim explained that in her job as an apartment manager she had recently evicted Nelson from her previous address.
After confirming the connection, police obtained search warrants for email and phone records associated with the IP address.
Authorities allege that the digital evidence confirms Nelson created the fraudulent listing with the intent to elicit harassment against the manager.
At this time, Nelson has not been remanded to police custody. A summons has been issued for her to appear in court to face the charges.
Scams involving listing someone’s property for sale or rent without their knowledge are not uncommon.
In this case, the alleged crime appears to be personally motivated, but there is a common scam in which images and addresses of homes are listed as available without a homeowner’s consent.
Scammers will usually lure victims with the promise of unusually low rent, but then require that cash be sent directly to them to “secure” the lease.
“It starts with an online listing for a rental property that is too good to be true,” Shaun Martin, owner and CEO of Denver Real Estate Solutions in Colorado, previously told Realtor.com.
“The rent is significantly lower than market value, and the photos look amazing. When you contact the ‘landlord,’ they will say they are out of town and unable to show the property in person. They will ask you to wire the deposit and first month’s rent sight unseen. Of course, once you send the money, you will never hear from them again.”
Julie Gerstein is a writer and editor based in Philadelphia. She previously worked at Business Insider as an executive editor covering news, entertainment, and digital culture, and was the company’s founding Singapore bureau chief. She was also a senior editor at BuzzFeed, covering lifestyle, fashion, and beauty. She earned a B.A. in women’s studies from the University of Pennsylvania and an M.A. in media and cultural studies from the University of Sussex.
