A ‘Serial squatter’ is on the run and wanted by Texas authorities after she allegedly conned her way into a home and caused $10,000 worth of damage.
Heather Schwab was sentenced to six years in Colorado prison in 2018 for a string of ‘appalling’ scams against landlords – but after being released in 2020, she has apparently struck again.
Last week she was charged with fraudulent securing of a document execution after renting a Rowlett, Texas, house under a fake name and squatting in it – paying no rent and leaving ‘feces and urine’ and ‘rotten food everywhere.’
Homeowner and latest alleged victim, Jessica Davis, told Fox News it will cost $10,000 to repair her four-bedroom house as Schwab left it in such a state that ‘we would have to get those hazmat cleaners because of all of the feces and urine.’
Heather Schwab was arrested and imprisoned in 2018 for a string of scams on landlords
Davis listed her four-bedroom home with a pool for rent six months ago when she had to move to Florida with her family for work.
Schwab replied to her advertisement with the name Heather Schwab, but then claimed her real name was Rayes Ruybal and she was using her friend’s account.
Davis said everything appeared to be above board, so they agreed to rent the property for $3,100 a month.
But when payments failed ‘left and right’, Davis became alarmed.
She says she went to the police but they told her it was a civil matter so she began doing her own research on ‘Rayes Rubal’ and discovered Heather Schwab’s past.
Davis hired a lawyer and began filing eviction notices to no avail. She said: ‘I called the police. I called the DA. I called the chief of police. The assistant chief of police. The Justice Department and the courts, like if I could get a number, I called it.’
Schwab finally moved out at the end of September, and when Davis’s husband and the police went to investigate, they found the house was trashed.
‘They smelled urine. They smelled smoke. Both of the toilets are clogged with mounds of toilet paper and other seemingly fluids,’ Davis said.
‘The pool is also pretty low now, so they were using that water. There is rotten food everywhere. She brought in a cat when she wasn’t supposed to.’
Davis believes that if the police had responded to her concerns sooner, much of the damage could have been avoided.
‘Even though I am happy that there is a warrant for Heather’s arrest, I feel like this could have been dealt with earlier if the Dallas County and Rowlett Police did not ignore my calls for help, my proof of fraud, and my wants on filing a report on Heather at the beginning,’ the homeowner claimed.
Heather Schwab and her husband, William, both pleaded guilty to scamming landlords in 2018
Heather Schwab was arrested in 2018 when her string of crimes was discovered
Rowlett Police told Fox News Digital that Schwab was last seen driving a 2005 Dodge Ram with a Colorado license plate reading ZOS460.
If arrested and found guilty, she faces up to 10 years in prison or a $10,000 fine.
In 2018, Schwab, then aged 43, pleaded guilty to felony identity theft and was sentenced to six years by a judge in Brighton, Colorado.
Schwab’s husband, William, also pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit identity theft. It unclear if William has been released from prison as well.
Judge Byron Howell called the couple’s conduct ‘appalling’ in handing down the lengthy prison term, CBS4 reported.
Schwab and her husband were reportedly evicted some 20 times in Texas before moving to Colorado.
Landlords said they used phony names to get around background checks, and then refused to pay rent until they were forcibly evicted. The couple are known to have used the names ‘Jenkins’, ‘Rayes and ‘Ruybal’.
One landlord, Kristine Reddick, told CBS DFW that the couple trashed her late father’s home in North Texas.