Free Republic

Illegal ‘migrant influencer’ Leonel Moreno, who mocked America on social media in several viral videos, has been nabbed by federal immigration authorities. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) fugitive operations officers arrested Moreno in Columbus, Ohio, on Friday and he is currently being held at Geauga County Jail, according to ICE records. The arrest comes after The Post exclusively reported how Moreno had skipped out on ICE soon after crossing the southern border into Texas illegally in 2022 and was now wanted by authorities.

It was a triumphant day for Patti Peeples, but one thing didn’t sit right with her. For more than a year, the 61-year-old Florida landlord fought to tighten the state’s law against squatting, a crime she saw up close when two women faked a rental agreement and occupied one of her Jacksonville properties. She’d done interview after interview, worked closely with her local legislators, and testified in Tallahassee. The result, a tough new law that would let sheriffs evict squatters without entering a lengthy legal process, passed with unanimous bipartisan support. On Wednesday, invited by her Republican state representative, Peeples...

Too many property owners are having trouble asserting their rights, but not everything is "squatter's rights."A man's home is his castle. Or is it? Over the past couple of weeks, squatters' rights—whereby someone who isn't a legal owner or tenant claims a right to stay in someone else's property—has moved from a 30 Rock joke to the subject of white-hot internet discourse. Kicking off this controversy have been several viral episodes of frustrated property owners trying to eject unwanted people from their homes. Most prominently, New York City resident Adele Andaloro was arrested on camera after trying to self-evict several...

A property owner in Atlanta, Georgia, is fighting back against squatters who have taken over his land, which spans nine acres. Approximately ten years ago, David Morris, who now resides in California, allowed four individuals to live on the property for a while at no charge, Fox News reported Wednesday, noting the agreement was they would assist with the upkeep of the land. Morris used to run a nonprofit on the property that assisted needy people with food. However, he shut down operations during the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, as people suffering from addiction and mental health problems moved onto the...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Squatters beware. Florida's latest law makes it easier to remove those illegally staying on private property. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed HB 621 into law Wednesday, eliminating squatters' rights in the state. "We are putting an end to the squatters scam in Florida," DeSantis said. "While other states are siding with the squatters, we are protecting property owners and punishing criminals looking to game the system." DeSantis said the law provides homeowners with remedies against squatting and increases penalties for squatters.

A local New York ABC News affiliate reported on the threat squatters are posing to residents and offered tips on how they can protect their homes from unwelcome guests, including putting up "No trespassing" signs. ABC 7 Eyewitness News investigative reporters Dan Krauth and Nina Pineda detailed the threat that squatters can pose under New York law, where a person can claim squatters' rights if they have lived in a home for more than 30 days. Efforts to change this law have gained serious traction in recent days after video of New York City property owner Adele Andeloro getting arrested...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law on Wednesday that empowers residents in the state to have law enforcement immediately evict squatters from homes instead of having the situation devolve into a drawn out legal battle, and increases the criminal penalties against squatters. DeSantis signed the bill at a press conference as recent incidents of home squatters have gone viral in Democrat strongholds like California and New York. “So we’re here today because you assume in America if you purchase a home and own a residence that that’s your residence, that if you happen to maybe split time...

Squatting is on the rise: Across the country, homeowners have returned to their vacant properties only to discover that squatters have broken in, made themselves comfortable, and are refusing to leave. Even worse, very little can be done to get them out. KIRO 7 News in Washington reported last fall on Rainer Valley homeowner Jason Roth, who had a tenant who was no longer making rent payments but refused to leave the property. Without that rental income, Roth was forced to give up his own home and live in his car. Meanwhile, his squatter was not only living in Roth’s...

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation into law Wednesday that ends squatters’ rights in the Sunshine State, stating that “squatting” is a scam that violates private property rights. After alarming stories about squatters commandeering homes and depriving the owners of their property rights made nationwide news in recent weeks, DeSantis took action. “We are in the state of Florida are ending this squatters scam once and for all. And momentarily I’ll be signing HB 621, which will give the homeowner the ability to quickly and legally remove a squatter from a property and which will increase criminal penalties for squatting,”...

If you own a home and don’t want to lose it, keep reading. Homeowners who go on vacation or a business trip, even for just a week, are returning to find their house overtaken by trespassers who fraudulently claim a right to be there. It’s happening to tens of thousands of homeowners from New York City to Atlanta and Los Angeles. When owners call the police, they’re told police can’t help. It’s a civil matter, and they have to file an eviction lawsuit, which can drag on for months or years because housing courts are backlogged. Meanwhile, owners are out...

Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signs into law a property rights bill to crack down on squatters.

Private property isn't so private anymore. When normal Americans weren't looking, squatters became cult heroes. The left has been cultivating squatters' rights for years. Woke cities are giving them legal backup by consolidating COVID-19-era no-eviction rules into free housing for months or years. People seeking their piece of the American Dream are now the stars of the left's dystopian horror show. The property takeovers are all over the country in the nation's woke cities. The stories are legion. "The homeowner wouldn't talk with us on camera for fear of retaliation from those living on the property. When he asked them...

A “greedy and grotesque” LA woman has been sentenced to 20 years behind bars for fraudulently obtaining real-estate property in a multimillion-dollar squatting scheme that included dismembering and disposing of a body. Caroline Joanne Herrling, 44, of West Hills was sentenced Friday to 240 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $3,887,051 in restitution for the elaborate racket, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement. “This defendant’s misconduct was both greedy and grotesque, causing profound pain to the victims and their loved ones,” US Attorney Martin Estrada said.

An Atlanta property owner is frustrated after he says people have been living on his land without permission for years. David Morris, who now lives in California, says squatters have been living on his southeast Atlanta property since the pandemic, and it's been quite an ordeal getting them to leave. However, according to his attorney, David Perrie, they were granted Writ of Possession on March 21. Morris says he now plans to install fencing to keep unwanted visitors out. Meanwhile, he says he was contacted by code enforcement to clean up the property. "It's frustrating that I'm having to spend...

U.S. — A new service "SquatBNB" has launched, aimed at helping potential squatters find the home of their dreams to take over. "Far too often, squatters take over a new home without knowing the quality of amenities provided, or difficulties dealing with the host," said SquatBNB CEO Don Carmichael. "Our service will allow squatters to read reviews from other squatters who have stayed at a property and see honest feedback about what each home has to offer. We have millions of homes on our site, ready for immediate squatting -- and the best part is, it's absolutely free!" According to...

“It’s too easy to forge a deed and record it,” Real estate attorney Richard Alembik told WSB-TV. “It’s a big problem nowadays, because of the fact that e-filing, the e-recording of deeds is so easy. It’s very easy to record forged deeds.” Alembik said notaries don’t check the identification of the people who submit the documents to verify if they are the rightful homeowners. Victims of fraud who have proof to be the rightful homeowners can still be ordered by a judge to move out and pay fines, according to the outlet. An elderly Georgia homeowner was forced out of...

An elderly Georgia homeowner was forced out of his house and arrested when an alleged swindler used fraudulent documents to claim ownership of the property. Charles and Charmaine Allman lived in the same Stone Mountain, Ga. home — located 16 miles east of Atlanta — for the last two decades before officials told the couple Tuesday that they no longer owned the house and had to vacate. “They made us feel like we were squatters,” Charmaine Allman told WSB-TV. “Just tossed my stuff out like it was trash.”

ccording to the local news, there's a new crime trend here in California, which is almost certain to make its way across the country and around the world, if it hasn’t already. RELATED: ‘Bump and Rob’ is an Old Scheme But a New Trend – Here’s What You Need to Know to Stay Safe

Hey California, having a problem with squatters? Well, the free market has provided an answer, once again. Introducing the "Squatter Squad." According to the company's website, their business is going into your property where squatters may have taken up residence and do what's necessary to remove them: We offer fast and effective squatter removal and prevention services throughout Southern California.Our job is to save our customers from all of the wasted time, money, stress, and headaches that come from squatters overtaking your property."Squatter Squad" makes it clear that they're not an "eviction service." In truth, they're much faster: Squatter Squad...

Landlords are now beating squatters at their own game. They are learning how to turn the tables by squatting on the squatters. This concept of invading the homes of the squatters was made very public by Mr. Flash Shelton: He became a national inspiration to landlords when he employed bold strategies to evict a mother-daughter grifter team from his mother’s family home. The dramatic event was recorded by Mr. Shelton and uploaded on YouTube. His amateur production of outwitting the mother-daughter grifter team offered a glimpse of what could be accomplished when the injured party (i.e. landlord) refuses to be...