{"id":60760,"date":"2026-04-14T13:56:04","date_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:56:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760"},"modified":"2026-04-14T13:56:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-14T20:56:04","slug":"cousins-plead-guilty-in-nationwide-short-term-rental-fraud-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760","title":{"rendered":"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n

LOS ANGELES<\/strong> \u2014 <\/span><\/p>\n

Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties advertised online.<\/span><\/p>\n

Quick Facts:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Defendants:<\/strong> Shray Goel, 37, of Calabasas; Shaunik Raheja, 36, of Denver<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Charges:<\/strong> Wire fraud (Goel); obstruction of justice (Raheja)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Scheme period:<\/strong> 2013 to 2019<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Tactics:<\/strong> Fake listings, double-booking, fabricated reviews<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Geographic scope:<\/strong> Nationwide, including California, Texas, Illinois, and Colorado<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Max penalties:<\/strong> 20 years (Goel); 10 years (Raheja)<\/span><\/li>\n
  • Sentencing dates:<\/strong> Aug. 14 (Goel); Sept. 11 (Raheja)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Shray Goel, 37, of Calabasas, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Shaunik Raheja, 36, of Denver, pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"MalletAccording to plea agreements, the pair launched an online rental business in 2013, listing properties through various platforms under multiple business names, including Abbot Pacific LLC and Jet Set Work LLC.<\/span><\/p>\n

    The defendants rented properties in cities across the country, including Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Nashville and Austin.<\/span><\/p>\n

    From October 2017 to November 2019, prosecutors said, Goel and Raheja used fake host accounts \u2014 sometimes using other people\u2019s identities \u2014 to conceal their involvement, double-book properties and post fabricated positive reviews. They continued operating even after being banned by one platform in 2015 due to repeated cancellations and complaints.<\/span><\/p>\n

    In some instances, the pair listed nonexistent properties or used fake addresses to create duplicate listings for the same property, allowing them to evade local regulations and manipulate bookings.<\/span><\/p>\n

    \"JusticeProsecutors said the core of the scheme involved double-booking and bait-and-switch tactics. The defendants listed the same property multiple times \u2014 sometimes across different platforms \u2014 at varying prices, then selected the highest-paying guest. They often left calendars open after bookings, creating overlapping reservations.<\/span><\/p>\n

    When overbooked or unwilling to host a guest, the defendants allegedly canceled reservations using false excuses, such as plumbing issues, or moved guests to different properties.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Authorities said the pair also attempted to suppress negative reviews by posting bogus complaints about dissatisfied guests and relisting properties under new identifiers to erase poor ratings.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Raheja admitted he lied to federal investigators in April 2023, denying knowledge of intentional overbooking.<\/span><\/p>\n

    U.S. District Judge Wesley L. Hsu<\/span><\/span> scheduled sentencing for Goel on Aug. 14. He faces up to 20 years in prison. Raheja is set to be sentenced Sept. 11 and faces up to 10 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    <\/div>\n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    \n
    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    LOS ANGELES \u2014 Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties advertised online. Quick Facts: Defendants: Shray Goel, 37, of Calabasas; Shaunik…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41105,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60760","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"American Justice Notebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-14T20:56:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"684\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"684\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Raul\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Raul\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\"},\"headline\":\"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T20:56:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760\"},\"wordCount\":372,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"American Justice\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760\",\"name\":\"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-14T20:56:04+00:00\",\"description\":\"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?p=60760#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2020\\\/07\\\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg\",\"width\":684,\"height\":684,\"caption\":\"West Virginia Woman Took Top Secrets, Committed Kidnapping\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"description\":\""Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." \u2014 Thomas Jefferson\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"American Justice Notebook\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2014\\\/07\\\/Justice-Scales.jpg\",\"width\":675,\"height\":231,\"caption\":\"American Justice Notebook\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/AmericanJusticeNotebook\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0\",\"name\":\"Raul\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Raul\"},\"description\":\"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/cjnotebook.com\\\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme","description":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme","og_description":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties","og_url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760","og_site_name":"American Justice Notebook","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook","article_published_time":"2026-04-14T20:56:04+00:00","og_image":[{"width":684,"height":684,"url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Raul","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Raul","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760"},"author":{"name":"Raul","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0"},"headline":"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme","datePublished":"2026-04-14T20:56:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760"},"wordCount":372,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg","articleSection":["American Justice"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760","name":"Cousins Plead Guilty in Nationwide Short-Term Rental Fraud Scheme","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-14T20:56:04+00:00","description":"LOS ANGELES \u2014 Two cousins pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal charges tied to a nationwide bait-and-switch scheme involving short-term rental properties","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=60760#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/cropped-judge-gavel-2.jpg","width":684,"height":684,"caption":"West Virginia Woman Took Top Secrets, Committed Kidnapping"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","name":"American Justice Notebook","description":""Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost." \u2014 Thomas Jefferson","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#organization","name":"American Justice Notebook","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/Justice-Scales.jpg","width":675,"height":231,"caption":"American Justice Notebook"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AmericanJusticeNotebook"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/#\/schema\/person\/f5521baddca77b521f012298775186c0","name":"Raul","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c7f80bd073aca2abc2fc18e390e13d00b72d9d3a81bca4fd53e3567b02efee6f?s=96&r=g","caption":"Raul"},"description":"Raul Hernandez is a former journalist. He has worked as a newspaper reporter for more than 30 years at the El Paso Herald-Post, El Paso Times, Press Enterprise in Riverside, California and the Ventura County Star in California. He was a court reporter for more than 20 years.","sameAs":["https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60760","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=60760"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60760\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60761,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60760\/revisions\/60761"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/41105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=60760"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=60760"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=60760"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}