Bogus landlord pleads guilty to thefts

Paul Bakovich, who posed as a landlord in order to collect rents from unsuspecting people, pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of second-degree theft and one count of attempted second-degree theft.

A single mother of two, Michelle Adame, was responsible for catching Bakovich in August after he scammed her and her boyfriend, Thomas Masson, out of $900 they thought they gave him as a deposit on a rental house in Redmond. Adame became suspicious when she found information on him other victims had posted on the Internet about his scams.

On Aug. 20, Adame and Masson were on their way to confront Bakovich and demand their money back, when she saw King County sheriff's deputies at a nearby coffee shop and tearfully explained her loss and what they were about to do.

They helped her and caught Bakovich as he presented them with a rental contract and a key to a vacant house that he didn't own, in the 25600 block of Northeast Redmond-Fall City Road.

In addition to scamming Adame and Masson, about the same time, Bakovich collected nearly $3,000 in bogus deposits from Bjorn Svensson, Kevin Milliken and Raul Bowman. Bakovich scammed Svensson within hours after he was released on bail, authorities said.

Bakovich, 36, of Kirkland, faces three to eight months in jail for the thefts, the standard range. He will be sentenced in King County Superior Court at 1 p.m. Nov. 13. Prosecutors have asked that he be ordered to pay restitution not only in cases for which he admitted his guilt, but also pay $1,410 to three others for alleged thefts for which he was not charged.

Nancy Bartley: 206-464-8522 or nbartley@seattletimes.com