Woman searches for a new home after falling victim to renters scam

Jonesboro, Arkansas – After being exploited, one woman is now searching for a new place to call home.

“We just in, oh, I was in shock,” said the woman, who did not want to be identified, after becoming a victim of what she is calling a scam by squatters.

A guy reported that people were residing in the house where his late grandmother had lived on Thursday, October 6, according to a Jonesboro Police Department incident report. He was attempting to use probate court to get the house.

The woman, who will be referred to as Jane, was residing there when the police arrived. “I told him, ‘Yes, I brought my lease’. I showed him my lease, showed my paperwork. It was just shocking,” she said.

The lease, according to the report, contained a number of truncated terms that led the officer to suspect fraud.

Jane claimed that she once resided close to the house on West Forest Street and had fantasized of staying there. She made an effort to contact the proprietors after realizing it was empty. “I kept leaving notes on it, and then finally, someone contacted me, and then I rented the house I thought,” Jane said.

She claimed that after speaking with someone who claimed to be the owner, she was given a lease and instructed to make repairs to the residence.

Jane outlined the extensive cleaning and home renovations that were required. She has spent close to $2,000 on these repairs since her family moved in.

According to her, the leasing agreement specified that she would begin making payments of $400 per month in January 2023, but on Thursday, the swindle was discovered.

“I just couldn’t believe it had happened,” Jane said. “Then when I saw the landlord himself and he didn’t look like the guy I hadn’t rented from, that was even, it was devastating.”

She claimed that anyone may experience this and that she could have saved time and money by verifying the facts. “You wouldn’t ever think of that, but make sure their ID matches who they really are,” Jane said.