A New York City personal trainer was indicted for allegedly stealing over $100,000 from at least eight prospective tenants in a rental housing scam.
According to the charges brought against him, 35-year-old Jerry Genesis falsely represented that he had apartments available for sublease through a third-party broker in the East Village, Chinatown, Nolita, Chelsea, and Downtown Brooklyn between Nov. 19, 2024, and July 31, 2025. When the victims expressed interest, Gensis arranged for them to view the apartments and signed sublease agreements in which he identified himself as the lessor.
At least eight victims signed sublease agreements with Genesis and paid him move-in costs ranging from $8,100 to $17,200, totaling at least $101,692.42. None of the victims ever successfully moved into the apartments they believed to have rented. One victim arrived at the apartment with some of his belongings, only to find an eviction notice taped to the apartment door, and two of the victims never received keys.
The New York Post reports that Genesis was previously indicted last February for a refund scam involving 10 victims tied to his personal training business. He left the city while on supervised release in that case and was later arrested in Stamford, Connecticut, following a three-hour standoff.
In his real estate scam case, Genesis was indicted with three counts of Grand Larceny in the Third Degree, one count of Scheme to Defraud in the First Degree. He was also separately arraigned on one count of Bail Jumping in the Second Degree.
“As alleged, Jerry Genesis took advantage of New York’s extremely competitive housing market to steal hard-earned money from eight individuals who trusted him to find them apartments. One of the victims had already started moving into the apartment before he realized it was a scam, leaving him without a home,” said Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. “This investigation is ongoing, and we believe there are additional victims.”
Photo via Jerry Genesis’ Instagram page
