Local News in Brief : Rent Swindle Charged

The operators of two rental listing agencies were charged with swindling about 40 prospective tenants by placing newspaper advertisements for non-existent housing units, the city attorney’s office said Wednesday.

Named in the 67-count criminal complaint were Roberta Wichman, 31, of Van Nuys; George Caceras, 28, of Hollywood; Annette O’Hanlon, 25, of Van Nuys; Joseph Bernard Gratzer, 53, of Sherman Oaks, and the two companies they operated, Citywide Rentals Inc. and Accurate Rentals Inc.

The firms, operating under the names of City Properties, the Rental Connection and Telerent and located at 13551 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, and 8285 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, were closed after police raids last February. People responding to the ads were charged $50 and given telephone numbers that were connected to answering machines operated by the defendants, prosecutors said.