<prompt> Human: So.. I found this amazing apartment on Craigslist. Great price. We went to look at it and its amazing. Landlord who said he owned the house seems nice. Very friendly, jokes around. He said he didnt care about a credit check but we have amazing credit so that doesnt affect us anyway. He said he only cared if someone could pay the deposit adding up to about 5k because if they can afford the deposit then they would take care of the place.Well, my SO googled his name before and saw he had some liensjudgements from the last few years. Our friends said that was probably because he mentioned he was recently divorced and divorces just screw your finances up. It seemed likely so we shrugged and figured wed go forward.. but then I got curious and did my own googling.Apparently my SO sucks at googling. I found that this man landlordhomeowner went to prison for 5 years for tax fraud. Based on the time lines, he must of got out of prison in the last 6 months. It sounded pretty serious. The tax fraud was for over 1 million dollars.Im just totally rethinking this now.. I know this man did his time, but he committed major fraud. If he can scam the government out of 7 figures, is he really going to care about taking my 5k deposit? And do I really want someone like this having access to my home and belongings?I dont know.. Am I being harsh? Five years for tax fraud.. I doubt someone gets 5 years in prison for fudging a couple numbers here and there.. I figured personal finance would have a good idea about how bad these charges and the fact he got 5 years of prison really are. Help! I love this apartment but.. Im also paranoid hes losing the house and just trying to cash in before the government seizes it.Assistant: Call a title company. Ask for customer service. Tell them you are an assistant on a loan transaction for name a big bank and you need vesting on the address. They will read off the name of the owners. Also. . Google the address. You need to be sure he is the owner as this is a common scam to rent properties you dont own. Human: The title company wont be suspicious and, assuming hes legit, notify him of the inquiry? The articles I found online regarding his trial actually state he lived at the address were looking to rent. So he definitely used to own the house at one point.He mentioned his ex-wife and him own the house together now, but I dont know if thats true.  <response>: No to your question. Also, you can go to the superior court website for your county and run his name. 