https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/88xbbk/shray-goel-charged-airbnb-scam

A notorious Airbnb host at the center of a 2019 Vice investigation has been indicted in California for allegedly masterminding a nationwide scam that systematically double-booked guests to rake in profits. 

Shray Goel—who describes himself as a “visionary in real estate,” among other things—was indicted on December 28 for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and criminal forfeiture by a grand jury in the central district of California. He’s accused in the indictment of running a scam since 2018 in which he double-booked guests at some of the over 100 properties he operates across the country, then fabricating excuses to either cancel at the last minute or move one of the parties to a less appealing property. Goel raked in $8.5 million through these schemes through various rental websites in 2018 and 2019 alone.