For the last 12 years, landlord Leanne Newton has rented her one-bedroom flat to student doctors, teachers and tenants who have been thrown out of their homes. But last Monday, the 54-year-old was left wondering whether to pack it in altogether. This wasn't because of surging interest rates and the looming Renters Reform Bill, it was because she had fallen victim to a brazen scammer who was unlawfully subletting her east London flat to unwitting holidaymakers to fund a life of luxury.
Ms Newton caught her tenant Ifende Uzoka, a four-time bodybuilding champion and fitness influencer who boasts of yacht trips in Dubai, flogging the Stratford flat for as much as £190-a-night on Airbnb and Booking.com. At this nightly rate, Uzoka - who signed a tenancy from October 2023 - could make as much as £69,350-a-year despite paying Ms Newton £22,800-a-year (£1,900-a-month).
Ms Newton is now desperately trying to evict Uzoka, who calls herself MsFitQueen and runs an online clothing company with the same name. She even featured on BBC Radio London's 'The Scene with Claira Hermet', a show which 'uncovers London's diverse culture and emerging talent'. Speaking exclusively to MailOnline, Ms Newton said: 'I've been a landlord for many, many years.
I've had student doctors, single parents, people who've been thrown out and need a home. This is the first time in my whole term as a landlord that I've ever encountered something like this, it's gobsmacking.' Pictured: Alleged scammer Ifende Uzoka posing on a yacht in Dubai - as she rakes in profits by subletting Leanne Newton's flat The property is a one-bedroom flat but Uzoka has converted the dining room into a second bedroom (pictured) Pictured: The dining room in Ms Newton's flat before it was converted into a second bedroom The retired British business owner, who left the UK for France this year, explained that although Uzoka, 34, met the managing agent in person and viewed the flat herself, she never moved in when the.
.. Arthur Parashar.
