By COLlive reporter
A home occupation scam occurring in the Crown Heights neighborhood in recent months has been causing much heartache for local homeowners.
The scam perpetrators target vacant apartments and houses, under construction or up for sale and rent. They illegally settle in and then extort money from the owners to vacate.
The most recent incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon of Chol Hamoed Sukkos, when a Jewish homeowner whose home is under construction received a phone call from a neighbor that there were individuals seen inside the home.
Knowing that the house was not being worked on at the time, the owner quickly called Shmira safety patrol for assistance, alerting them that intruders had broken into his home.
Within minutes, Shmira and NYPD officers arrived at the home, and found a 27-year-old black male who had broken the locks and had entered the home.
When the NYPD questioned him, he produced a fake “Lease”, which he claimed he had been given by an agent, and had rented the entire home, the home’s owner told COLlive.com.
The lease was dated 5 weeks before, so that he could claim he had been living in the home for over 30 days, which is the amount of time needed for squatter’s rights in New York.
The owner explained to the Police officers that he had not rented the home to anyone, and searching the home, found that there was no evidence that he had been living there.
“Thank G-d, I was alerted to the break-in almost immediately, so he could not try to convince the police that he had been living in the home for any amount of time,” the homeowner told COLlive.
“Had he been able to bring a bed or other belongings, the police might have believed his scam.”
The ordeal wasn’t over for the homeowner who asked to remain unnamed. He was required to appear in court to fight the claims of the intruder, who still claimed he rented the apartment through Craig’s List, and that he had a lease for $2,200 for the entire house.
“The judge nearly believed his story,” the homeowner said. “He claimed he had paid cash in advance, and now he had nowhere to go. Thankfully, I was able to prove that due to some violations in the house a year ago, we had been served with eviction notices, and the house was not allowed to be lived in until everything was brought up to code. How could I have rented out the home?”
The NYPD warns Crown Heights residents to be aware of the scam, as many homeowners don’t check up on the home for extensive amounts of time while they are undergoing renovations.
What the scammers will do, officers said, is change the locks and move in, and then it’s much more difficult to convince a judge that they aren’t the victim, especially if there is evidence of personal effects which indicate they have been living in the home.
Homeowners should make sure to check up on their property consistently, and have good video cameras to be sure no one is breaking in. Additionally, be aware of mail that is delivered to the home for utilities which have been signed up in other people’s names.
“It’s frightening to think that if he had been in the house even for a few days, he would’ve been able to prove he was living in the home, and the judge would’ve probably told him to return to the home for now, until this could be sorted out in court,” the homeowner said. “He could’ve lived in the home for months, or extorted a large amount of money from me in order to leave. I urge all homeowners to be extremely vigilant about their property so that this doesn’t happen to you,” he said.
to #13……WE DID CALL SHMIRA!!!!!! and to #12, you are commenting on the WRONG subject……..this had nothing to do with landlords that charge massive rents…….
Don’t you know ANYONE who has worked, and is working really hard to pay a mortgage for their family to have a home. really, are all those who own a home feeling superior to other humans, and oppressing the poor? And all who rent are oppressed? Really? I hate to be condescending, but…grow up please !
It’s his house, you have no right to set foot there without his permission, and he has the right to demand whatever he likes in return for that permission. He is not “leeching” or “profiting from the suffering of other human beings”, and he is certainly not “depriving the common man” of anything; to deprive someone of something it must be his in the first place. He is simply setting the price for being so gracious as to let you live in his house. If you think it’s too much, don’t live there.
You are so off the mark. This was a PRIVATE owner, of his own home – nothing to do with building owners and landlords. In case you didn’t realize, Communism fell 25 years ago – move to China to help the oppressed masses.
If your EVER witnessing such a senario, call SHMIRA and police right away ,so that these dogs don’t feel comfortable even looking at the house again.
Seriously
Sorry, but after 10 years of dealing with greedy Brooklyn landlords who feel superior to all mankind because they own a home, and who leech off the suffering of others… Maybe this intruder was paying it forward. I pray everyday that Hashem will save the poor and oppressed of Brooklyn from greed. I pray everyday that the slumlords will do teshuva and realize there are other ways to earn a parnossa – other ways that do not involve profiting from the suffering of other human beings. How dare you preach that the Geulah is here, and in the same breath… Read more »
Many people in our building saw these guys a few times smoking pot in the garage in the back….we told them we would call the police!!!! so they ran off…but obviously they realized no one lives in the house, and they tried their luck!!….forgetting that WE know exactly what was going on. They even sublet the house to some other young women, with a “fake” contract!
This same thing happened to me on Lincoln Pl right off of Kingston Ave!
IT took me 8 months and a $20,000 “buy out” to rid my home of these blood sucking chaleros
BIg Mistake. I would not have let that guy walk out of the house. Carried instead. Send a message.
Thank g-d we have shmira and resistance that look out for these criminals.
Thanks shmira and nypd
Some violations can cause stop work orders, which can cost you thousand of dollars and months of set backs. Don’t deliberately make violations, that’s working backwards!! Put up vidoe cameras and check often
“”The judge nearly believed his story,” the homeowner said. “He claimed he had paid cash in advance, and now he had nowhere to go. Thankfully, I was able to prove that due to some violations in the house a year ago, we had been served with eviction notices, and the house was not allowed to be lived in until everything was brought up to code. How could I have rented out the home?”” When renovating, the owner perhaps, should deliberately create some code violations, and then fix those last after the rest of the renovation is done, right before moving… Read more »
great collaboration with NYPD71Pct
Bh we have a gr8 shmira safety patrol.
This guy really could have got in to deep problems.
Thanks CHSP
Right when I saw the word “shmira ” I already knew the ending. .
So now that you proved he was lying, does he get prosecuted? I’m not sure what the crime is exactly, but breaking and entering, property damage, who knows what else. This criminal should be fully prosecuted, that would be justice! Please update us.