We’ve had several posts about the growing problem of squatters flouting the law or even creating counterfeit documents to claim possession. Recently, law enforcement in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida removed 10 people who illegally took over an expensive home, leaving it, according to local officials, bug infested and damaged. According to the NY Post, the Broward County Sheriff’s Office evicted seven men, two women and a child from the home after it was discovered they were illegally squatting. Investigators were able to unravel an alleged crime ring after the arrest last Fall of a suspect who allegedly led a title fraud operation. In this particular situation, the suspect created a fake person to become executor of the Fort Lauderdale property, allowing him to illegally take ownership of the $1 million property – and may have carried out similar fraud with 14 other properties worth a combined $14 million.
“It’s bug infested,” Mike Fisten, an investigator for the Broward Property Appraiser’s office Crimes Against Property team, told CBS Miami. “The walls are damaged. The flooring is damaged. The windows are damaged. The whole area is totally damaged.”
“He actually had rented it out to other people that didn’t own the property,” Broward County Property Appraiser Marty Kiar told CBS Miami.
“When an individual steals a home, not only is the property owner a victim, but the community can be victimized as well,” Kiar told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
Click here to read the full report at the New York Post.