“There’s a plumbing problem”: how two cousins double-booked travelers across nearly 100 Airbnb and Vrbo rentals

You booked the place with the great photos. Then, right before check-in, the host says there’s a plumbing problem and offers you “something similar” nearby, or nothing at all. According to federal prosecutors, for thousands of travelers that wasn’t bad luck. It was the business model. In April 2026, Shray Goel, 37, of Calabasas, California, pleaded guilty to wire fraud for a double-booking, bait-and-switch scheme on Airbnb and Vrbo. His cousin and business partner, Shaunik Raheja, 36, of Denver, pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for lying to federal investigators. On August 14, 2026, Goel was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and a $15,000 fine, MyNewsLA reported.

How it worked. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says that from 2017 to 2019, the cousins’ business listed the same property several times at different prices for the same nights. They kept whoever paid the most. Everyone else got a made-up excuse, often plumbing, and was cancelled or moved to a different place. Prosecutors say they used fake host names, sometimes other people’s identities, and kept listing after one platform banned them in 2015. Properties ran from Malibu and Venice to Chicago, Nashville, Austin, and Savannah.

How they buried the complaints. This is the part every renter should read twice. According to their plea agreements, the cousins posted fake positive reviews, plus fake negative reviews of guests who criticized them. When a listing piled up bad reviews, they deleted it and relisted the same property under a new listing ID, wiping its history clean. The 2024 indictment also alleged more than 10,000 reservations, over $8.5 million in payouts, and cancellations driven partly by racial bias. Those were allegations, not part of what the cousins admitted.

What it means for renters. This case only exists because travelers complained and federal investigators kept digging for years. In the meantime, a fresh listing with no bad reviews looked just as trustworthy as any other. If a “plumbing problem” ever cost you a trip, you may not have been unlucky.

How to spot it: Don’t accept a last-minute switch without seeing the new place, and go through the platform for a rebooking or refund. Reverse-image-search the listing photos. Be wary of a polished listing with no history. Screenshot everything before your trip, because relisting can erase the evidence.

Were you bumped, switched, or cancelled on? Tell us at renterscourt.com/share. You may find out you weren’t the only one.

Reported, not proven: this piece relies on U.S. Department of Justice releases and news coverage. Goel and Raheja admitted only the specific counts they pleaded guilty to. Other allegations in the indictment were not proven in court. Spot an error? renterscourt.com/correction

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney’s Office, C.D. Cal., “Two Cousins Plead Guilty to Federal Crimes in Connection with Nationwide Online Short-Term Rental Booking Scam” (Apr 14, 2026): fhfaoig.gov
2. DOJ release via FDIC OIG, “2 Indicted in $8.5 Million Nationwide Airbnb/Vrbo Scam…” (Jan 4, 2024): fdicoig.gov
3. MyNewsLA, “Calabasas Man Gets Prison for Online Rental Scam” (Aug 14, 2026): mynewsla.com
4. Washington Times, “Cousins plead guilty in short-term rental double-booking fraud scheme” (Apr 16, 2026): washingtontimes.com