How Much Money Did Youssef Khater Steal?
The five-part Netflix true-crime docuseries "Worst Roommate Ever" is about exactly that: Some of the most harrowing and horrific stories of roommates gone wrong, ranging from murderous grannies, in the case of Dorothea Puente, to a number of conmen and thieves, bilking their housemates for millions. In nearly every case, the victims were unaware of their roommate's true nature until after the deeds were done. One such example is Youssef Khater, who showed up in "Marathon Man," episode three of the show.
Per Radio Times, Khater was a Danish-Lebanese man living in Chile, convicted of attempted murder and scamming his then-roommate Callie Quinn in 2011, among other people. Prior to that, Khater was no friend of the law. Khater, in fact, had an arrest record in Denmark for fraud, as well as arson, embezzlement, and forgery. During his time in Chile, Khater stole thousands from innocent people who thought that they'd found a new roomie, or who were supporting a man they admired.
Callie Quinn
The first person to experience fraud at the hand of Youssef Khater was Callie Quinn. Among all his victims, Quinn shows up most in the series. Per Texas Monthly, Quinn is a native Texan who moved to Chile in 2011. Once she arrived in Chile, she squared away work, and she needed a place to live. She found a large house, described like a hostel, where Khater also lived. It's here that things start to go wrong for Quinn.
A supposed marathon runner who was known to tell grandiose tales of his time spent in Danish special forces, Quinn and Khater did not get along right away. Many of Quinn and Khater's shared roommates fell under his sway, though, and eventually, Quinn succumbed to his charms. Khater claimed to be Palestinian. Soon, Khater announced he had purchased a condo building in Santiago and was looking for renters. Quinn was interested, paying Khater $1,000. The condo in question never materialized, and Khater would end up bludgeoning Quinn. She would survive, but Khater's crimes only worsened from there.
Carlos Medina
According to the Netflix true-crime series, Khater was purportedly in South America to run Atacama Crossing, a week-long, 155 race through the deserts of Chile. Per Texas Monthly, Khater ostensibly needed money to do so. At that point, Khater approached a man named Carlos Medina, among others, who were interested in financially supporting the supposed athlete. Khater could be the first Palestinian to win an extreme marathon, and Medina was the leader of the Federacion Palestina de Chile (per Texas Monthly).
Medina would help Khater raise $8,000 for this purpose. But Khater would drop out of the race after only one day because of an injury, or so he said. Medina, and others, urged Khater to appeal, but he wouldn't, claiming racism on the part of the judges. Eventually, a doctor ruled that Khater was not in fact injured, but when Medina tried to get his money back, he found Khater gone, via The Netline. He would never see his $8,000 again. Not long after that, another victim of Khater's emerged.
Dominic Rayner
The next notable victim of Youssef Khater appearing in "Worst Roommate Ever" is a British runner named Dominic Rayner. Not long after Medina and his colleagues realized they may have been scammed by Khater, Medina was in contact with Rayner. At one point, Khater called Rayner a friend. It was then that Rayner revealed that Khater also owed him money for a total of $12,000 for the race. Rayner also gave Khater $38,000 for real estate, per Radio Times.
Rayner was also the second person Khater tried to kill. After Rayner pressured him about what had become of the money. Khater beat Rayner over the head, injuring him (via Radio Times). Khater begged Rayner to forget the attack ever happened, and he only stopped after onlookers intervened, via Screen Rant. But Rayner's $50,000 dollars was gone — and so was Khater. These are only three of Khater's many victims who appear in the Netflix docu-series, but there are others.
Khater's additional victims
Others who experienced scams at the hands of Youssef Khater not appearing in the Netflix docu-series "Worst Roommate Ever" include a Danish runner whom Khater cheated $10k from to go toward property in Brazil. He also conned $19,000 from a Canadian traveler in Costa Rica, and a total of $28,000 from a variety of Danish citizens, said to be for a sports facility in Dubai. He's also on the hook for $3,500 in sports equipment, according to Screen Rant.
In total, Youssef Khater is said to have conned, stolen, or defrauded up to $120,000, if not more. He was only accused of three attempted murders to cover his crimes, never actually killing anyone. In 2012, he spent 18 months in jail for the attempted murder of a young American woman he was living with, per Texas Monthly. Otherwise, Khater was only been sentenced to 600 days in prison, according to Bustle. He was released.
Youssef Khater's current whereabouts
Where, though, is Youssef Khater today? After "Worst Roommate Ever," additional voices of people he scammed may yet come to light. At the time of this writing, Youssef Khater is still a free man, as Radio Times reports. In 2015, he was tracked down running marathons in Costa Rica under an assumed name, where it's believed he stole an additional $18,000, bringing grand theft to $138,000 stolen across Europe and Central and South America. In 2017, Khater showed up again in The Costa Rican Star, when he was arrested for massive fraud but released just a short time later.
Per the third episode of the 5-part Netflix docu-series "Worst Roommate Ever," Youssef Khater was last seen in Denmark, and is believed to live under assumed names, possibly Joseph Carter or Joseph Maria. Youssef Khater Scammer is an unofficial WordPress website tracking the criminal's whereabouts. "Worst Roommate Ever" is available to stream now on Netflix.