WASHINGTON, Utah — A Utah man is now facing charges after he allegedly rented out a property in Hawaii to a friend. But according to police, he didn't own the property and had no right to rent it out. Matthew Liutai Tanuvasa, 32, was arrested on April 1st and faces theft charges.
Court documents state that the Washington City Police Department was made aware of the alleged theft on March 21. The victim told police he had paid a friend to use a rental property in Hauula, Hawaii. The victim paid the money through Venmo to Tanuvasa's mother.
The total amount paid included $3,616 for the rental, $500 for a deposit on the property, $330 in taxes, and $1,257 for tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center. The payments were made before the scheduled trip on March 7.
But the victim would become cautious of the interactions when he learned that Matthew had ongoing cases of fraud in Northern Utah. Due to the concerns, the victim had a friend who lived in Hawaii stop by the rental property. When he did, he found two people living in the home permanently with no clue what had happened.
The victim confronted Tanuvasa about the issue, and he referred the victim to another rental and stated that he was unable to return the money due to ongoing legal and financial issues, but he would repay him as soon as possible.
Investigators say the victim instead rented another property in Hawaii and continued with the trip. However, when the victim attempted to go to the Polynesian Cultural Center, he was informed that the tickets he had bought from Tanuvasa weren't there, and he would have to pay again to visit the center.
The victim told detectives that he attempted to contact Tanuvasa several times to get a refund, to no avail. Police also attempted to contact Tanuvasa by calling and texting him but had no luck.
On April 1, police, in coordination with the Utah Highway Patrol and the Washington County Sheriff's Office, stopped Tanuvasa's vehicle near the state line for questioning.
When talking to the police, Tanuvasa claimed that he didn't own the property but had been renting it through the current owner. Investigators then informed Matthew that they had talked to the current owners, who didn't know who Matthew was.
Tanuvasa was arrested amd faces a charge for theft valued between $1,500 and $4,999.
