Adrian Hayman needed an apartment fast. It was December 2024, and after a painful break up with his girlfriend, it was time to get out of the place they shared for almost a year in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
Heartbroken, he began perusing Craigslist in hopes of saving money. After a couple of apartments fell through, he found an ad for a studio near Prospect Park. The price: $1,600 a month, a bargain for the area.
Hayman texted the phone number, and he said a man named David Michael immediately called him back, offering to show him the apartment right away…