An update to the story of illegal squatting in homes all over the First Coast.
We've been investigating the surge of squatters who claim adverse possession as a legal way to occupy vacant homes.
State Attorney Angela Corey and Sheriff John Rutherford have announced three arrests, including former Democratic mayoral candidate Warren Lee, on organized fraud charges.
"The situation of our economy and foreclosures has added to this, plus I truly believe, somebody put something out on the Internet and said hey, great new thing to do", said State Attorney Angela Corey at a morning news conference.
According to the State Attorney, Lee, Rhonda Johnson, Marcellous Dunbar, and Cleveland Stephens were involved in a scheme to defraud.
They allegedly claimed adverse possession, saying they were allowed to be in certain homes throughout the area when in in fact they weren't.
Sheriff Rutherford says they were alerted by concerned neighbors who told them something just wasn't right or said they knew for a fact the individuals didn't own that home.
Lee, who was called a mastermind of the organization by officials, is charged with organized fraud, grand theft of over $100,000 and operating as a real estate broker without a valid license.
Sherrif Rutherford says their are things you can do to make sure you don't become a victim. If you are renting a home and think that something may not be right, Sheriff Rutherford says he encourages you to go to the property appraisers website on www.coj.net.
He says there you can click on property search, type in the address and get the owner of record. If you find out that the owner of record is not the one that you are paying rent to, call police. He continued on to say that if you know a home has not been sold or property of the bank, but you see someone move in, police urge you to call the Economics Crime Unit at (904) 630-2175.
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