BNEWS.ID – A 54-year-old woman from Jakarta, Maharani Aisyah Rasyid, has once again found herself facing the law after allegedly scamming multiple prospective shop tenants in Denpasar and Badung. She was arrested after her fraudulent shop-rental scheme caused total losses reaching Rp 156 million.

Denpasar Barat Police Chief, Kompol Laksmi Trisnadewi, explained that the suspect posed as a shop owner and promoted the properties through social media. Once victims transferred the rental fee, she disappeared without a trace.

“The suspect deceived victims by claiming to own the shops, then fled with the rental money,” Laksmi said during a press briefing at Denpasar Barat Police on Monday (24/11).

The case surfaced after one of the victims, 21-year-old Silvi Anggraini, became interested in renting a shop on Jalan Gunung Agung after seeing an online advertisement. On October 15, 2025, she met the suspect to inspect the shop and paid Rp 3 million as a down payment.

Later that evening, Silvi transferred an additional Rp 18 million as full payment after another inspection. However, when she attempted to verify the shop’s ownership, she discovered that Maharani had no legal ties to the property. Feeling deceived, she filed a police report under LP/B/135/XI/2025/SPKT/Polsek Denbar/Polresta Denpasar/Polda Bali.

“The suspect was arrested on November 19, 2025, after fleeing to South Jakarta,” Laksmi added.

Further investigation revealed that the scam had been carried out at six different locations: Jalan Imam Bonjol (loss Rp 23 million), Jalan Mahendradata (Rp 25 million), Jalan Raya Tuban (Rp 42 million), Jalan Gunung Lumut (Rp 20 million), Jalan Bhuana Raya (Rp 25 million), and Jalan Gunung Agung (Rp 21 million).

Police also discovered that Maharani is a repeat offender, previously convicted of a similar fraud case in Central Jakarta in 2019. She served a one-year sentence and was released in 2020.

According to Kompol Laksmi, the suspect often used a small initial payment of around Rp 500,000 to gain the trust of shop owners and obtain access to their properties before exploiting it for fraudulent deals.

Maharani now faces charges under Article 378 of the Criminal Code for fraud and Article 372 for embezzlement, carrying a maximum sentence of four years in prison. Police urge any additional victims to come forward and file reports. (*)