[ca] Lost $18,600 In A Rental Impersonation Scam. What Legal Avenues Should I Pursue Now?

Location: San Francisco, CA

I live in California and recently became the victim of what appears to be a sophisticated rental impersonation scam. I’m looking for advice on what legal avenues are worth pursuing and whether hiring an attorney or private investigator is likely to improve my chances of recovering the money.

Here’s what happened:

• I found a rental listing for an apartment in San Francisco on Craigslist (there was also a legitimate Zillow listing for the same property).
• I attended an in-person open house with 6–7 other groups of prospective tenants.
• The person conducting the tour appeared to be the legitimate property owner since he had access to the apartment, appeared knowledgeable about the building, and everything seemed legitimate.
• I completed a rental application, submitted supporting documents, signed a lease, and wired $18,600 (first month’s rent, last month’s rent, and security deposit).
• Communication continued normally for several days after payment, including discussions about utilities and move-in. The person confirmed our key handoff on the morning of move-in.
• When I arrived to receive the keys, nobody showed up, and all communication stopped.

I later tracked down the person who posted the legitimate Zillow listing. He confirmed that he was the person who conducted the open house, but he also confirmed that:

• He did not create the Craigslist listing.
• He did not communicate with me outside of the in-person open house.
• He did not sign the lease I received.
• He never received any of the money.

So it appears the scammers piggybacked on a legitimate open house and impersonated the real landlord by creating an identical Craigslist listing.

One additional lead is that the recipient of the wire transfer was a business account that's an active Florida LLC based in Jasper, Florida. I have no way of knowing whether this is the same entity, whether the business itself is involved, or whether its identity was simply used by the scammers, but it appears to be one of the few identifiable leads in the case.

Since then I have:

• Opened a wire fraud investigation and wire recall with Bank of America.
• Contacted the receiving bank.
• Filed reports with SFPD, the FBI IC3, the FTC, and the SF District Attorney’s Real Estate Fraud Unit.
• Preserved extensive evidence, including the signed lease, complete communications, wire confirmation, walkthrough videos, and a written statement from the legitimate property owner confirming the impersonation.

My questions are:

1. Is hiring a civil fraud or real estate litigation attorney worthwhile at this stage, or should I wait for the bank and law enforcement investigations to progress?
2. Would a private investigator realistically improve my chances of identifying the people responsible and ultimately recovering the funds?
3. Assuming the recipient of the wire transfer can be identified, what civil causes of action would typically be available?
4. Does the Florida LLC with the matching business name represent a lead worth pursuing, or is it more likely a dead end unless investigators can tie it to the receiving account?
5. Are there any additional legal steps I should be taking now to preserve evidence or improve my chances of recovery?

I’m trying to determine what the most effective legal path forward is given that the fraud has been confirmed and I’ve already reported it to the relevant agencies.