Woman flees Airbnb finding owner's secret - furious when denied refund

A woman fled from an Airbnb stay when she learned of the host's dark history of sex crimes but was furious when she was later denied a refund.  

Natasha Harrington booked to stay in Winston Nguyen's home in Harlem, New York City, listed on Airbnb, but when she arrived another renter knocked on her door and told her to Google his name. 

Harrington was then horrified to recognize her host who had just greeted her moments earlier, Nguyen, is facing charges accused of soliciting sexually explicit pictures from teenagers. 

She had said in a Reddit post that she had initially found him to be 'very nice and charming', but everything changed when she heard a light knock on the door. 

At the door was a man who had spotted her going into the apartment building, and questioned what she was there for, which Harrington had dismissed. 

He told her: 'I’m trying to be very discreet. I found some things out about this man, and he’s not a good person. Google his name. He’s a pedophile. And he’s being evicted, so I don’t know how long you’ll be staying here.'

Nguyen, 37, was charged with allegedly posing as a teenager on social media eleven times between October 2022 to May 2024, according to the Independent, in an attempt to convince students to send him sexual images. 

'I was really scared,' she told Gothamist. Harrington, who works as a preschool teacher in Manhattan, then got in touch with her sister and partner to reveal her situation. 

She told the outlet she went to sleep 'feeling uneasy', fled in the morning with all her belongings, and contacted Airbnb to receive a refund for the $1,600 cost. 

Harrington then spent a grueling few days attempting to get in touch with customer support and find someone who would help her, but she was furious when the company told her the situation didn't violate Airbnb's refund policy.

The company advised Harrington to get in touch with the host, as is policy at that stage, she told Gothamist: 'It was extremely frustrating, and it felt like even the live people I was talking to weren't really receptive to doing anything about the situation. Everyone kept asking me, "Well, have you talked to the host?" - which of course I didn't talk to him.' 

Screenshots showed Harrington's attempts to explain the situation, even providing links about Nguyen's charges, reported the outlet, but the members of customer service she spoke to were clear. 

'As much as I'd love to shorten your stay and process the refund for you, since the host had not given me authorization to process any refund, I won't be able to proceed,' one message read. 

Harrington was continually told the situation 'does not qualify under our refund policy' and that decision lay in the host's hands who had said he was abiding by the cancellation policy and refused to offer a refund. 

She took the matter to Reddit, and after describing what had happened, she was urged to contact local media. 

Airbnb, 25 minutes after being told of her plans, said that they 'take these reports seriously and are currently investigating', Harrington wrote on Reddit. 

Hours after Gothamist had reached out to Airbnb, Harrington had been granted a refund and, according to an Airbnb spokesperson, Nguyen had been removed from the platform. 

A spokesperson for Airbnb stated: 'The safety of our community is a priority, and we have been in contact with our guest to support them, including providing a full refund. The host was removed from the platform in line with our policies.' 

Nguyen had worked as a math teacher for the $60,000-a-year private school, St. Ann's School in Brooklyn, since 2020 and was 'immediately placed on leave by the school and he remains on leave', reported Daily Mail. 

In 2019, the Jeopardy! contestant was also charged and jailed on Rikers Island for fourth months after he stole $300,000 from a 96-year-old blind man and his 92-year-old wife, who have both since died.

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Nguyen was hired in 2009 to assist the blind man and his wife with day-to-day tasks, and used the stolen money for expensive ballet tickets, Broadway shows, and trips to Florida with his friends.  

Harrington said she hopes policies will be put into place to protect from situations like hers in the future. 

She told Gothamist: 'It's completely unfair to leave it just up to the host, whether they want to refund someone or not when they're the problem.'   

Airbnb shared that following an investigation, they worked to address Harrington's issue, they said: 'we determined further support was due... as part of our support we've assisted with rebooking costs.' 

Nguyen, according to Airbnb's statement, had no prior reports of safety-related concerns and the company 'enforce struct policies governing who can have an account'. 

Airbnb also stated that they run standard criminal background checks for hosts and guests in the US, which looks for convictions. 

Nguyen has pleaded not guilty, and his next court appearance is scheduled for October 17.