With the permission of the victim, we are able to show you one of Ryland's scams from start to finish.
Ryland will use the Facebook profile of his current girlfriend to post an advert for accommodation on Facebook. When the victim show's interest, he will send a message posing as his girlfriend to say they are going to hand the enquiry over to Ryland.
He will arrange for the victim to view the accommodation that he is currently squatting in and attempt to pass off the entire development as his own. If the victim is interested, he will then apply pressure to get them to sign his dodgy contract and pay a deposit.
Once he has pocked the deposit and had the contracts signed, he will then find an excuse to stop the victim moving into the property, boiler issues, flooding etc.
The victim will eventually ask for the deposit back, Ryland will do his "I transferred the money but the bank stopped the transaction" spiel or some variation of this. The victim will continue to push for the refund and that's when Ryland starts threatening legal action and calling his favourite number 101.
In this particular incident, the victim has done what they can, they have reported to the police and Action Fraud.
In summary, when looking to rent properties, please carry out due diligence. If something feels off, it probably is.
I love the fact he cannot just claim to own one apartment, he always states he owns the ENTIRE development. I wonder when the reality of his failed life will sink in?