Palm Springs Men Plead ‘Not Guilty’ To Alleged Rental Scam

Two Palm Springs men accused of scamming at least 15 vacation home renters out of more than $50,000 pleaded not guilty today to embezzlement charges.

Michael Maloney, 49, and Matthew Wehling, 45, allegedly posed as vacation rental agents over a two-year period, showing clients online photographs of properties they claimed were for rent.

The pair solicited down-payments from clients, who would arrive to find that the residence they thought they had reserved had never been available for rent, Palm Springs police Officer Rhonda Long said in June, when the men were arrested.

When News Channel 3’s Mike Daniels asked Maloney if he stole the $50,000 dollars he replied by saying, “We did not, we pleaded not guilty and we have nothing else to say.”

Both were charged with 15 embezzlement counts in May, when warrants were issued for their arrests.

They asked to be represented by the public defender’s office, and are due back in court Sept. 2 for a felony settlement conference and a hearing to determine which public defenders will represent them.

“The public defender’s office is for people who can’t afford a private attorney — I understand you can’t?” Riverside Superior Court Judge Victoria Cameron asked Maloney.

“I cannot,” he answered.

Wehling gave the same reply when she asked him the question.

Cameron also scheduled another Sept. 2 settlement conference date in a separate case in which Maloney is charged. He pleaded not guilty in March to nine felony charges, including counterfeiting, forgery and burglary, according to court records.

Deputy Public Defender Joseph Forth said outside the courtroom that in cases when there are two defendants, there is usually a hearing to determine who will represent them so they can each have an attorney.

“Even though they’re co-defendants, sometimes the defenses might be different, so they each should have their own attorney,” he said.

Police alleged in June that Maloney and Wehling would rent out homes owned by local residents and then keep the money for themselves. They embezzled money from at least 15 Riverside County residents between March 2009 through April 2011, according to the complaint.

“Maloney and Wehling would collect rental deposits from the victims and either fail to return the security deposit or divert the renter to another location for an additional rental fee,” Long alleged after their June 7 arrests.

They were released from the Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility in Banning the next day after each posted a $75,000 bond.

The complaint alleges that the pair “willfully and unlawfully appropriat(ed) to their own use” amounts as high as $15,000. They used websites such as “Homeaway” and “Vacation Rentals by Owner” to attract potential victims, according to police.

Maloney is also charged with fraud in a separate case. According to police he used other people’s identity to get loans at local businesses.

The two men will be back in court on Sept. 2.