A Long Beach woman accused of scamming renters out of nearly $48,000 in security deposits was released from custody today and sentenced to two years of probation.
Anne Bergstedt-Jordanova, 40, originally faced 15 charges each of grand theft and obtaining money by false pretenses based on the accounts of 14 victims, but she accepted a plea deal last month that dismissed all but two of the charges, according to court records. If convicted at trial, each charge would have carried a minimum prison sentence of 16 months or a maximum of 3 years.
Under the agreement, she’ll serve no further jail time unless she violates her probation. She had spent 63 days in custody since her arrest in November.
Her sentencing brings an end to a saga that took on a life of its own online. Since at least 2024, local renters have been warning about Bergstedt through social media and even a website that detailed her alleged schemes.
Prosecutors said Bergstedt stole $1,500 to $4,000 at a time from people who responded to her fake apartment listings. Once she received money to secure the apartment, Bergstedt would cut off communication and keep the money. When confronted, she often weaved elaborate excuses as to why she couldn’t hand over the keys or refund the deposit, according to victims who spoke with the Post.
On Tuesday in a Long Beach courtroom, Bergstedt, wearing her jail-issued shirt and pants, nodded along as Judge James D. Otto read the terms of her probation.
She was ordered to pay restitution of $47,100 to 14 separate victims. The judge finished the hearing by wishing Bergstedt luck.
One of Bergstedt’s victims said he doubts the sentence will deter her from further scamming.
“Well, at least they got her for 3 months,” he said of the time she spent in jail.
In a phone interview with the Post, he asked to remain anonymous for fear Bergstedt would retaliate against him now that she’s free.
Bergstedt, he said, was “very charismatic and charming in person” when she gave him an in-person tour of an apartment.
He sent her thousands of dollars through Zelle to secure the unit, but when he asked her how to pick up the keys, she told him she didn’t have an answer because she had been busy planning her father’s funeral.
A few months later, he decided to drive by the property. There, he found a sign from the real landlord (Bergstedt had only pretended to own it) essentially saying, “If you signed a lease with Anne, you were lied to.”
The victim was able to move back in with his parents, but the experience was “traumatic” and delayed him moving into his own place, he said.
“I’m a very kind person, and I try to see the best in people, and now I’m very scared to do that,” he said.