An official state wanted list has been created for a “serial squatter,” who was last seen allegedly living fraudulently in a Texas residence, according to authorities.
A police spokesman informed Fox News Digital on Thursday that Heather Schwab was charged by the Rowlett Police Department this week with fraudulently securing document execution of over $30,000 and less than $150,000, which is a felony. The department has issued charges of this kind in the past, the spokesperson said, but it was an unusual charge that neither she nor a detective had ever seen before.
Police have stated that they think Schwab is probably still in the state and are requesting that anyone with information about her whereabouts come forward.
In 2018, Schwab, a fraudster with a criminal record, was sentenced in Colorado for felony identity theft related to serial squatting. After spending just 16 months in prison, she was freed in 2020. This year, Rowlett homeowner Jessica Davis raised the alarm about a lady who had moved into her home without paying rent, putting her back in the public eye.
“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 had not ignored my calls for help, my proof of fraud, and my wants on filing a report on Heather at the beginning,” Davis told Fox News Digital on Thursday.
According to authorities, Schwab’s accusation is related to a leasing agreement she signed with Davis, in which she promised to pay $3,100 a month for a 12-month period.
When Davis spoke with Fox News Digital earlier this fall, Schwab was still squatting in the house. Davis brought up how she had phoned numerous local officials for help with the situation, but had been informed that it was a civil case.
“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,” Davis said in September.
In December, Davis and her spouse Colin Davis bought their first house in Rowlett, which is about 20 miles outside of Dallas. Before Davis had to go to Florida for her job approximately six months ago, the family’s ideal home—which features four bedrooms, a pool, and a hot tub—was a reality.
The couple opted to rent out the property since they did not want to sell it so soon after buying it. They put up ads on Zillow and Apartments.com to attract potential renters, but they ended up in a terrible situation with Schwab, who purportedly took on a fictitious name in order to move into the house.
While the prospective tenant initially contacted Davis under the name “Heather Schwab,” Davis said she was actually contacted by the lady, Rayes Ruybal, who claimed to be using her friend’s Zillow account.
The application seemed to be in order, and Davis permitted the mother and her son, who is 17 years old and has autism, to move into the property early while the house’s payments were being processed. However according to Davis, the payments fell through, and the homeowners never got any money from the woman.
According to Davis at the time, she started her own investigation into the woman when the police kept telling her it was a civil matter.
After looking up Heather Schwab, Davis came across news articles from 2018 detailing her apprehension and eventual conviction for felony identity theft related to her alleged serial squatting in Adams County, Colorado. She was accused, together with her spouse William Schwab, of staying in rental apartments and never making payments to the landlords.
Schwab was referred to by prosecutors as a “serial squatter,” and the judge who heard her case in 2018 described her offences as “appalling.”
After the revelation, Davis and her husband retained legal counsel and tried in vain to have eviction letters served. Davis claimed that the fact that the local media started looking into the situation last month aided in hastening the eviction of the squatter and her son from the property.
When Schwab eventually left late last month, according to Davis, the house was filled with food and debris and reeked of cigarette smoke and urine.
“They smelled urine. They smelled smoke,” Davis recounted of what her husband and police found when they entered the home. “Both of the toilets are clogged with mounds of toilet paper and other seemingly fluids.”
In her Thursday response to Fox News Digital, Davis bemoaned the fact that she was “paying for it” and that she had hoped the local police would have taken action much sooner when she discovered the squatter in her home. She claimed that “negligence and lack of communication is heavy on the department on this matter.”
“I was even told that I was not a victim. According to Rowlett Police, they even admitted they ignored me [until] the local news got involved,” she said. “…I hope the higher-up or DA will look at what happened and fix the issues in the law department.”
The homeowner claimed that because of the squatting problem, she is now in financial need and is staying with relatives.
The monthly income from the property was estimated to be $2,850 in rent, plus a $300 monthly payment for weekly pool services. Instead, Davis is facing a $1,500 water bill, energy bills, legal fees, mortgage payments, and costly cleaning services since the woman has not paid Davis for the three months that she is owed.
Schwab was last seen driving a 2005 Dodge Ram with a Colorado licence plate that read ZOS460, according to police, who spoke with Fox News Digital.
Schwab may be sentenced to up to ten years in jail or a fine of $10,000 if he is arrested and proven guilty.
