Man who rented one Hell's Kitchen bedroom pleads guilty to subletting the apartment to 17 people for $50,000

A California man who rented a single bedroom in a Hell's Kitchen apartment has admitted to signing up at least 17 people to sublet the place and keeping roughly $50,000 of their money.

Nicholas Fuelling, 44, of Fair Oaks, Calif., pleaded guilty Friday in state Supreme Court in Manhattan to one count of third-degree grand larceny, the top count of the indictment, and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced. The building is 334 W. 47th St., between Eighth and Ninth avenues, according to W42ST.

How the scheme worked

Fuelling had rented one of the apartment's two bedrooms since 2022, according to the DA's office. In August 2025 he posted a sublease on Facebook Marketplace and offered both bedrooms, without the landlord's approval. Over that month, at least 17 people signed sublease agreements for the same unit. Many paid him about $3,200 each for a bedroom, and at least one person paid $6,400 for both.

All of them expected to move in by Sept. 1, 2025, for stays of six months to a year. None could. Some were left effectively homeless, prosecutors said. When the would-be tenants asked for the refunds promised in their sublease agreements, Fuelling stopped answering. He kept the scheme going even after he moved out of New York State for good on Aug. 17, 2025, the DA said.

The case grew after the first charges. When Fuelling was indicted in October 2025, prosecutors cited five victims and nearly $20,000; the plea covers at least 17 people and about $50,000, Hoodline noted.

What happens next

Fuelling is due back in court for sentencing on Dec. 4. Under the plea deal he was promised six months in jail, five years of probation, mandatory treatment for a gambling addiction and about $50,000 in restitution to his victims.

Bragg said Fuelling "used the housing crisis to his advantage" by going after people looking for stable housing. The case was handled by the DA's Housing and Tenant Protection Unit, with detectives from the Midtown North and Midtown South precinct squads.

If you were scammed

The Manhattan DA's office asks anyone who has lost money to a rental scam to call 212-335-3300 or email Danyhousing@dany.nyc.gov.