FTC: Rental startup Roomster cheated apartment hunters out of $27M

Apartment marketplace Roomster could soon find itself evicted from the internet after being accused of cheating renters out of tens of millions of dollars. In a complaint filed Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission and New York attorney general Letitia James accused the startup of flooding the internet with unverified listings for rentals that in many cases did not exist. John Shriber and Roman Zaks, Roomster’s founders and co-owners, then convinced prospective tenants to sign up

The post FTC: Rental startup Roomster cheated apartment hunters out of $27M appeared first on The Real Deal New York.

Startup that wants to build car-free cities raises $30M Series A

Culdesac, a startup with the lofty ambition of building America’s first car-free city, hauled in $30 million in Series A funding. Surveys suggest a majority of Americans want to live in walkable neighborhoods, but don’t. Tempe, Arizona-based Culdesac is betting that it can help them take that leap. “With record increases in congestion, loneliness, traffic fatalities, and global warming, building a new option for the way we live has never been more important,” the company

The post Startup that wants to build car-free cities raises $30M Series A appeared first on The Real Deal New York.

Homebuilder Plant Prefab raises $30M, eyes third factory

Prefabricated homebuilder Plant Prefab has raised $30 million in a Series B funding round and said it had opened a second factory and plans a third next year. The latest funding round for the Southern California-based firm again included Amazon Alexa Fund. Leading the round were Asahi Kasei Corporation — which owns one of Japan’s largest homebuilders — and Paris Ventures, the corporate venture capital program of Brazilian steel producer Gerdau. Plant Prefab CEO Steve

The post Homebuilder Plant Prefab raises $30M, eyes third factory appeared first on The Real Deal New York.