Two cousins double-booked nearly 100 Airbnb and Vrbo properties, then blamed plumbing
Shray Goel of Calabasas, California and his cousin Shaunik Raheja of Denver ran a short-term rental business, operating under names including Abbot Pacific LLC and Jet Set Work LLC, that listed the same property several times at different prices on Airbnb and Vrbo, kept the highest bidder, and then cancelled or moved everyone else with last-minute excuses such as a plumbing problem. A January 2024 superseding indictment alleged the scheme brought in more than $8.5 million across more than 10,000 reservations at nearly 100 properties in 10 states. In April 2026 Goel pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and Raheja to one count of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators. On August 14, 2026 Goel was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison and a $15,000 fine; press coverage of the sentencing put the scheme at $1.5 million. Raheja's sentencing was set for September 11, 2026.
- Year
- 2026
- Where
- United States
- Outcome
- Sentenced
- Reported loss
- $1.5 million
- Victims
- Not stated in the sources
- Schemes
- Vacation rental scams
- Last reviewed
- 2026-10-04
The facts, as recorded
- Goel and Raheja started an online short-term rental business in 2013 and operated it under names including Abbot Pacific LLC and Jet Set Work LLC, according to their plea agreements.
- From October 2017 to November 2019 they used fake host names and, in some cases, other people's identities to list properties, to double-book them, and to post fabricated positive reviews.
- They also used fake host accounts to keep listing properties after one platform banned them in 2015 over repeated host cancellations and guest complaints.
- In some cases they listed fake addresses, addresses with no rental housing, or addresses that did not exist, to create duplicate listings for a single purported property.
- The core of the scheme was a bait-and-switch: the same property was listed several times at different daily rates, the highest bidder was kept, and other guests were cancelled, talked into cancelling, or moved to a different property.
- Overbooked guests were told false excuses, including a plumbing problem or some other unforeseen issue, and negative reviews were answered with bogus negative reviews of the guests who wrote them.
- The January 2024 superseding indictment alleged more than 10,000 Airbnb reservations in 2018 and 2019 produced more than $7 million in payouts, with more than $1.5 million in additional Vrbo payouts.
- The indictment also alleged that the pair made decisions about which guests to keep or cancel based in part on racial discrimination, and tried to avoid renting to guests they perceived to be Black.
- Goel pleaded guilty in April 2026 to one count of wire fraud and Raheja to one count of obstruction of justice for lying to federal investigators in April 2023.
- Goel was sentenced on August 14, 2026 to one year and one day in federal prison and a $15,000 fine, with a restitution hearing still to be scheduled.
Why this case matters
Most vacation rental fraud on this page is a listing for a place the seller does not control. This one ran on the real platforms and involved properties the defendants rented nationwide, and was still a fraud. The deception was about which guest would actually get the house: a booking was a bid, not a reservation, and a guest who lost the bid was told the home had a plumbing problem. It shows that a confirmed booking on a well-known platform is not the same thing as a protected stay.
What the plea agreements describe
According to the plea agreements summarised by the Justice Department, the pair posted multiple listings of the same property, sometimes under fake host names or other people’s identities and sometimes at addresses that did not exist, so that they could choose the highest-paying guest for each night. Overbooked guests were cancelled or moved to inferior homes at the last minute, and guests who complained were answered with fabricated negative reviews, while listings with bad reviews were deleted and re-posted to start clean. Prosecutors said both Airbnb and Vrbo cooperated with the investigation.
The money figures
Two different totals appear in the public record, and they measure different things. The January 2024 superseding indictment alleged that the scheme brought in more than $8.5 million, from more than $7 million in Airbnb payouts on more than 10,000 reservations in 2018 and 2019 plus more than $1.5 million from Vrbo. Press coverage of the August 2026 sentencing described the scheme as a $1.5 million rental scam. This page uses the smaller sentencing-day figure as the case’s loss amount and reports the indictment figure only as what prosecutors alleged.
The caveat
Shray Goel pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and was sentenced; Shaunik Raheja pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice for lying to investigators, not to the fraud itself. Raheja’s sentencing was scheduled for September 11, 2026 and this page did not locate a report of the outcome. The racial discrimination and the $8.5 million figure were allegations in the indictment; the plea agreements summarised by the Justice Department describe the double-booking scheme but, in the release read for this page, do not repeat the discrimination allegation. Any other person named in an indictment and not convicted is presumed innocent.
Sources
- 2 Indicted in $8.5 Million Nationwide Airbnb/Vrbo Scam That Allegedly Defrauded 1,000s of Victims and Discriminated Against Black People. U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California. Accessed 2026-10-04. Supports: The January 2024 superseding indictment: the $8.5 million figure, more than 10,000 reservations, nearly 100 properties across 10 states, the Airbnb and Vrbo payout figures, the secret bidding war and bait-and-switch method, the discrimination allegation, the charges, and the statement that an indictment is merely an allegation.
- Two Cousins Plead Guilty to Federal Crimes in Connection with Nationwide Online Short-Term Rental Booking Scam. U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California. Accessed 2026-10-04. Supports: The April 2026 guilty pleas: the business names, the October 2017 to November 2019 period, fake hosts and identities, the 2015 platform ban, fake addresses, the double-booking method, the false excuses, the bogus reviews, Raheja's April 2023 false statement, and the scheduled sentencing dates.
- Calabasas Man Gets Prison for Online Rental Scam. MyNewsLA.com. Accessed 2026-10-04. Supports: Goel's August 14, 2026 sentence of one year and one day, the $15,000 fine, the pending restitution hearing, the $1.5 million figure, Raheja's September 11 sentencing date, and Airbnb and Vrbo's cooperation.
- Pair indicted in alleged Airbnb, Vrbo rental property scam that netted $8.5 million. NBC News. Accessed 2026-10-04. Supports: The charges in the superseding indictment, the $8.5 million and 10,000 reservation figures, and the U.S. Attorney's statement about the scheme.