Professional Tenants Who Defrauded Property Owners and Taxpayers Are Finally Arrested
Professional tenants, Linda and Russell Callahan, were finally arrested after a grand jury indicted them on over 50 criminal charges. This comes after the notorious couple cheated numerous property owners over 20 years by willfully not paying rent while committing fraud, forgery, and larceny. Even as they faced these charges in multiple court hearings, they still managed to victimize a Worcester property owner by squatting in his property as recently as June.
Even more outrageous is that taxpayers are providing rental assistance for these crooks, including Brian Coombs, and his wife, Nicole Inserra, who have victimized property owner, Leo Behaj of Reading.
As reported in our June 2025 newsletter, investigative NBC 10 News reporter Ryan Kath and his producer, Shira Stoll, received the regional Edward R. Murrow Award for their investigative reporting on professional tenants. You can find Ryan's most recent videos below, in addition to his and Shira's appearance on Episode 10 of SPOA Housing Policy Series, called "Professional Tenants Exposed."
If you are a property owner who has been victimized by professional tenants, please tell us your story by emailing us at askspoa@gmail.com.
by Amir Shahsavari and Allen Hebert
