Who Is José A. Restrepo?
Public Record — Legal Filings
José A. Restrepo operates Urban Realtor, a property management company that rents short-term and monthly apartments inside Edificio San Peter at Carrera 79A No. 42-51, Laureles, Medellín. The apartments are listed on Airbnb, Booking.com, and Expedia, and are marketed primarily to foreign visitors — Americans, Europeans, and digital nomads drawn to Medellín's Laureles neighborhood.
A former tenant has filed formal legal actions naming Restrepo and his business as respondents. The allegations are serious. They are documented in filings with assigned case numbers in the Colombian judicial system.
The Allegations
Extortion
Restrepo fabricated property damage claims and demanded 3,000,000 COP from a departing tenant. When the tenant disputed the fabricated charges, Restrepo threatened arrest and deportation. The demand escalated to 10,000,000 COP through a document the tenant was forced to sign during illegal detention. The return of all confiscated property — valued at approximately $38.2M COP (~$9,500 USD) — was conditioned on payment, meeting the legal definition of extortion under Colombian law.
Illegal Detention
The tenant was detained for over 30 hours beginning January 28, 2026. No judicial hearing. No formal charges. No access to the U.S. Embassy despite the tenant being an American citizen. The tenant was forced to sign financial documents in Spanish — a language he declared he could not adequately understand for legal purposes — without legal counsel present.
Theft and Fraud
During the hours of detention, $400 USD in cash was stolen from the apartment and approximately $1,170.74 USD in fraudulent charges were made to the tenant's credit card. The card issuer confirmed the charges as unauthorized. The timestamps correspond exactly to the period of detention.
Property Confiscation Without Judicial Order
Every personal belonging was confiscated: laptop, phone, gaming console, clothing, photography equipment, artwork, cash — and, critically, the tenant's U.S. passport and daily-use antiretroviral medications. The medications were retained for over 90 days, constituting a direct threat to the tenant's life and health.
Deportation Threats as Leverage
Restrepo explicitly threatened the tenant with deportation — "for 1, 5, or 10 years" — as a tool to compel payment. These threats were recorded in a 14-minute voice note sent by his employee, Lina. Using deportation threats against a foreign national to extract payment is a coercive tactic that exploits the power asymmetry between a local operator and a foreigner with limited institutional recourse.
The Legal Record
A constitutional tutela was filed May 1, 2026, and assigned to Juzgado 06 Administrativo, Medellín (Radicado 05001333300620260016000), alleging violations of Articles 23, 28, 29, 36, 49, and 58 of the Colombian Constitution — covering rights of petition, personal liberty, due process, asylum, health, and private property.
A criminal denuncia was filed with the Fiscalía General de la Nación (Radicado 2026030501724) documenting extortion, illegal detention, theft, and fraud.
A derecho de petición was filed with Colombia's DNI on March 12, 2026. The DNI failed to respond within the mandatory 15-business-day window — an administrative violation that has generated additional legal grounds for action.
A Note to Prospective Tenants
José A. Restrepo is entitled to the presumption of innocence. These are allegations, not convictions. But they are allegations filed in formal legal proceedings with case numbers you can verify through Colombia's Rama Judicial — not anonymous complaints on a review site.
If you are a foreign national considering renting from José Restrepo, Urban Realtor, or Edificio San Peter, you now have the information to make an informed decision. Use it.
Verify the case numbers yourself. Tutela: 05001333300620260016000 • Fiscalía: 2026030501724