US man linked to Singapore shell company rental cases seeks S$20,000 from Siglap landlord

SINGAPORE: A man from the United States who made the news last month after it was revealed that he had a pattern of using shell companies to rent properties in Singapore and then refusing to pay landlords has been in the news again. 

A judge ordered Anthony Thomas Price to pay S$17,031.98 for legal costs and expenses, in addition to the rental fees he owes. Under a shell company, he had rented a semi-detached house at Lengkong Dua for his family from a Singaporean couple in their 80s, for $7,500 a month.

The company, Noranth Ventures, paid for the first month’s rent as well as half of the rental deposit of S$15,000, and nothing else. From June onward, the tenant’s family lived there rent-free.

On Nov 4, Senior Minister of State for Law Murali Pillai said in Parliament that the police are investigating Mr Price.

Earlier this week, in the latest development about Mr Price’s doings, Lianhe Zaobao reported that the American filed a lawsuit against another of his landlords. 

Mr Price and his family lived in a property in Siglap, where, after not paying rent for almost a year, the owner of the house filed a lawsuit against him.

The American filed a countersuit, in which he asked for S$20,000 in damages. Among other claims, he alleged that the house had over 50 defects, the landlord did not maintain the house in good order, and that this affected his health, rendering him unable to travel overseas for work.

The amount he seeks is meant to compensate for defamation and emotional distress as well.

The case is currently in the pre-trial stage.

Mr Price has rented a total of three properties in Singapore using shell companies. The first was at Jalan Selamat in Kembangan from September 2019 to September 2021. Mr Price only paid for a month and a half, causing the owner to take legal action against Norath Ventures due to S$27,160 in unpaid rent, and the case was settled and later withdrawn.

Two years ago, Mr Price used another company, this time called Bundleluxe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Noranth Ventures, to rent a landed semi-detached property in Burnfoot Terrace, Siglap. He was supposed to have stayed there for all of 2024.

After being paid only for a few months, the owner of the property took Mr Price and Bundleluxe to court in February 2025.

District Judge Chiah Kok Khun found a "pattern of using shell companies to rent residential premises,” based on Mr Price’s actions.

“Price devised a deliberate scheme to rent the premises for him and his family with no intention to pay rental ... He embroiled the defendants in litigation in a bid to extend his period of unlawful occupation of the premises,” the judge added. /TISG

Read also: SMS Murali Pillai: Police investigating US man who refused to pay rent to elderly Singaporean couple