Louis Vuitton-toting man who claims he's a member of Sydney's high society and works for a law firm allegedly scams students out of thousands of dollars by renting properties he doesn't own
- Darby Murphy allegedly pretends to be a landlord to take advantage of students
- They say he shows them homes he doesn't own, before taking their rent money
- Murphy allegedly showed the units through the backdoor to evade security
- When they get suspicious, they allege he refuses to give their money back
Darby Thomas Murphy has been accused by a slew of furious people for posing as a landlord while claiming to work at a prominent Sydney law firm
A young man who claims to be part of Sydney's high society has allegedly scammed students out of thousands of dollars by renting out properties he doesn't own.
Darby Thomas Murphy has been accused by a slew of furious international students of posing as a landlord while pretending to work at a prominent Sydney law firm.
A dating profile linked to Mr Murphy describes himself as 'connected' and 'blessed financially from a young age'.
Brazilian man Daniel Barbosa says Murphy scammed him out of $3,600 in 2017 for a rental he claimed to own.
He arrived in Sydney and rented an apartment from Mr Murphy in Chippendale in the inner west.
But before long Mr Barbosa grew suspicious of Murphy when he would only enter through the back door to avoid the concierge when showing him the home.
Mr Barbosa had only been living in the apartment for three weeks when he received an eviction notice from a real estate agent working on behalf of the real owner.
'I couldn't believe it - he (Mr Murphy) told me he was the owner, he was polite and told he me often worked at a law firm... he was so believable,' Mr Barbosa told the ABC.
Mr Murphy - whose social media profiles say he's based between New York and Sydney - reportedly refused to give Mr Barbosa back his $3,600 bond money.
Mr Barbosa said he felt powerless in a foreign country after being ripped off what was a lot of money to him.
But because the matter wasn't criminal, police told Mr Barbosa to take civil action against Murphy.
Mr Murphy was ordered to pay him back by the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal, but Mr Barbosa says he hasn't received anything.
However Mr Murphy claims the Brazilian national lived with him in a property he rented, but their friendship then soured.
Darby Murphy claims to be a lawyer at a prominent law firm, but the firm says he doesn't work for them
Mr Murphy allegedly took his 'tenants' through properties he didn't own and took off with their bond money
Another case was as recent as May this year, when Mr Murphy rented a room from Ribat Zaman, who was in need of a roommate for his Milson's Point unit.
Mr Zaman said he and Mr Murphy mainly spoke over the phone and thought he seemed like a normal young professional.
After just three weeks of living together, Mr Zaman claims Mr Murphy stopped paying rent.
'I became suspicious when he stopped replying (to text messages), then I googled him and found all these scam warnings from others,' Mr Zaman said.
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His research then lead him to Mr Barbosa, who warned him about Mr Murphy - which then uncovered several more people claiming to have also been ripped off by the 'lawyer'.
'I was worried about my safety and I sent Darby a message telling him to leave and not contact me,' Mr Zaman said.
Mr Zaman believes Mr Murphy set up his base in his home to scam other people.
To make matters worse, a young man turned up to Mr Zaman's hope ready to move in.
Ribat Zaman (pictured) claims Mr Murphy rented out a room in his Milson's Point home to six separate people without his knowledge
He said he transferred rent money to a man named 'Thomas' who had already showed him around the property while Mr Zaman wasn't home.
This was allegedly just the first of six strangers to show up on Mr Zaman's doorstep over the next two weeks ready to move in.
International student Katika Unjitanusorn, from Thailand, saw an ad online for a room in the apartment up for lease.
She claims she transferred Mr Murphy $420 in rent but when she went to move in with an unsuspecting Mr Zamon, no one was home and Mr Murphy wasn't answering her phone calls.
NSW Police confirmed to the ABC that the case was part of an 'ongoing investigation'.
Brazilian man Daniel Barbosa (pictured) says Murphy scammed him out of $3,600 in 2017 for a rental he claimed to own. Mr Barbosa was later evicted from the Sydney home by the actual landlord
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