Story

In October my fiance and myself found ourselves the victims of a scam artist. We had rented a house, with a lease, from a gentleman who said he was the homeowner. Our lease was from April through December of 2024 and was paid in full. Towards the end of the month in October we arrived home to find a sign on the door that said to contact our local Sheriff’s department. When we did just that they immediately arrested us both for burglary and squatting. Apparently the gentleman was only posing as the homeowner and the real homeowner knew nothing about it. We both since retained counsel and while I am confident the criminal charges won’t result in a conviction because we have the lease, receipt of payment, and a key to the front door. However the damage has been done. We were not allowed to get anything from what was once our home. Nothing. We had to start from scratch. Literally we had nothing but the clothes on our backs. What little money we did have was used to pay attorney fees. I can’t even sell my vehicle because the title was in the home and we have been told we cannot get any of our belongings until the investigation is over. We had a small business managing short term rentals but we lost it when we were incarcerated.  Neither of us has been able to find any steady work. I have cleaned a few cabins but unfortunately since I’m just the cleaner and not managing it, none of them have any bookings!!!!! So now at almost 42 years old I have to DoorDash for money. I am grateful for the job but unfortunately it’s just enough income for living expenses. This has been a humbling experience to say the least. I never thought I would have to start completely over building a life, a home at my age. It’s overwhelming when we didn’t even do anything wrong. I can feel the depression creeping into me and I’m really trying to stay strong but some days it’s all I can do to get up. The irony is that there used to not be enough hours in the day to complete everything I needed to for work and now…nothing.  It’s killing me to see my fiance like this, he’s so talented in so many fields. Mechanic work, construction (from laying the foundation of a home all the way until the finished product), any kind of maintenance on a home, pest control, landscaping, tree work, plumbing, tile work and painting (his grandfather taught him tile and his dad was a painter so those are probably his specialty). He worked on hydraulic tools used on railroads for 8 years. He had a lot of uncles and they each taught him a trade. When you live in a small town like we do (I won’t be tacky and say where) you are not presumed innocent until proven guilty. Oh no not here. The court of public opinion reigns supreme. It’s like we have been blacklisted. If I had the means to move I would in a heartbeat. Small town police/government corruption meets the epidimdy of the Southern Baptist hypocrite (all the locals).  I know this is a long shot but if anyone out there has the means to donate anything at all it would be greatly appreciated.