A Utah man is facing criminal charges after allegedly duping a victim out of thousands of dollars with a fraudulent Hawaii vacation rental scheme, according to court records.
Matthew Liutai Tanuvasa, 32, has been charged with theft by deception, a third-degree felony, after allegedly swindling $4,887 from a victim who believed they had booked a rental home and attraction tickets in Hawaii.
Court documents state that the victim paid $3,616 for what was advertised as an Airbnb property in Hauʻula, Hawaii. However, it was later revealed that the address belonged to a full-time resident who was unaware their home was being falsely advertised as a rental. Additionally, the victim reportedly paid over $1,250 through Venmo to a relative of Tanuvasa for tickets to the Polynesian Cultural Center — which also turned out to be fraudulent.
The victim became suspicious after discovering Tanuvasa had ongoing fraud cases in Northern Utah. A friend of the victim, who lived in Hawaii, visited the rental address and confirmed the home was not available for rent.
When questioned, Tanuvasa allegedly attempted to shift blame, offering a different rental property instead. He admitted he couldn’t refund the original payments due to financial and legal troubles but claimed he intended to repay the victim soon.
Ultimately, the victim was forced to spend an additional $5,400 on a verified vacation rental and another $441 for legitimate attraction tickets. According to court filings, Tanuvasa never returned any of the initial payments nor made any arrangements to do so.
Authorities in Utah worked alongside Hawaii law enforcement, who verified with the homeowners in Hauʻula that they neither knew Tanuvasa nor had any involvement in vacation rentals.
Tanuvasa was arrested and booked into the Purgatory Correctional Facility. During interviews, he admitted he was dishonest in his dealings with the victim and confirmed he did not own the Hawaii home.
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