Four former strangers, including Michah Rigdon (second from l.) and Jose Vilchez (far r.) met up after all allegedly renting the same room from a man on Craigslist. View Full Caption Jose Vilchez

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A biker, a street performer, a teacher and a French national walked into a Ukrainian Village bar on a Saturday night earlier this month, eager to share some drinks and compare notes.

A week before, they were all strangers. By the time they reached the bar, they were all friends — with one odd connection tying them together.

Each said they answered a Craigslist ad offering a $450-a-month room in a Ukrainian Village apartment. Each ponied up money for a security deposit, and most got a key.

But none of them ever moved in — because the renter had repeatedly rented out the same room to multiple people and pocketed their money before the renters figured it out, prosecutors allege.

Jose Vilchez, 33, sits in his art studio Downtown. The School of the Art Institute student is one victim of a man prosecutors said is a Craigslist scammer whose misdeeds led to friendship for the people he ripped off. View Full Caption Erin Meyer

Erin Meyer says the group had quite an unusual introduction outside the apartment they all thought they were moving into:

Several of the renters discovered the theft when they showed up individually at the apartment in the 2300 block of West Thomas this month looking to get in, authorities said.

After they pieced the scheme together and dealt with police, they exchanged contact info and decided to go out for drinks. Although they never made it into the apartment, they were all in it together.

"It was a scene. We're a strange hodgepodge of Gilligan's Island people who don't fit together," said Micah Rigdon, a 28-year-old Kentucky native who just moved to Chicago this month and answered the Craigslist ad.

"This is the strangest way to meet people in a new city," Rigdon said.

Accused in the case is Ryan O'Keefe, 32, of Chicago. He's charged with theft, accused of stealing money from three of the would-be renters. He also is charged with aggravated assault for pulling a fake gun on one of the men who confronted him, prosecutors said.

The renters described him as a "seemingly nice, trustworthy guy."

Plus, "for $450 a month, I can deal with whatever," Rigdon said.

Rigdon said he decided to go by his new apartment to make sure the keys worked after Riot Fest on Sept. 14. He couldn't get in, but came back the next day at O'Keefe's request.

When Rigdon got there, he said he found a group of wayward subletters standing around.

"They explained the situation. They all have keys that don't work. They all have security deposits starting on the 15th," Rigdon said.

One of the subletters was Jose Vilchez, a 33-year-old painter and a student at the School of the Art Institute.

Vilchez, who plays his saxophone at Blue Line stops to make extra cash, said O'Keefe had given him the runaround.

On Sept. 15, Vilchez said he was concerned about being scammed so he set up a meeting to confront O'Keefe.

"He said, 'I'm going to give you a refund next week,' " Vilchez recounted. "I knew it was a scam, but I wanted to face him in person. I just played along."

They agreed to go to the lobby of Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center. It was there that Vilchez told O'Keefe he was going to call the police.

Prosecutors allege that O'Keefe, shortly before midnight, then pulled a replica gun on Vilchez.

O'Keefe was detained by security at the hospital and later arrested. He appeared in court earlier this month to face the charges against him. He was subsequently released from jail on electronic monitoring pending his next hearing. He could not be reached for comment.

After the dust settled, Vilchez, Rigdon and two others who say they gave O'Keefe money for the room — a French woman and a teacher — decided to get together at Standard Bar and Grill bar and restaurant, 1024 N. Western Ave.

"We probably won't get our money back. At least we made some new friends," Vilchez said.

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