Professional Tenants Defraud Taxpayers, As Well As Property Owners, While Reporter Wins Award for Exposing These Scams
As reported in our previous newsletters, investigative reporter Ryan Kath of NBC 10 News Boston exposed a prolific pair of professional tenants, Linda and Russell Callahan, for cheating rental housing providers for over 20 years by deliberately withholding rent payments without facing serious consequences. After Ryan's reporting, the Callahans are now facing criminal charges in court for fraud, forgery, and larceny. But believe it or not -- even in the middle of their ongoing court hearings -- they somehow managed to victimize yet another property owner by squatting in his Worcester property, as they have done with their other victims in different parts of the state for decades!
If you think this is as damning as it gets for Massachusetts, you can think again.
Per Ryan's additional reporting, it should come as no surprise that the Callahans are not the only professional tenants who have been working the system in Massachusetts for decades. Even more outrageous is that taxpayers are providing rental assistance for these crooks, including Bryan Coombes, and his wife Nicole Inserra, who have victimized property owner, Leo Behaj, of Reading. You can read more on this latest story and see the video in the link below.
On the brighter side, these stories led to Ryan and his producer, Shira Stoll, receiving the regional Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting.
Congrats to Ryan and his team for their well-earned award in exposing these dangers and the troubling flaws within our system, while forcing at least some of these criminals to justice. We are even more proud to have had Ryan and Shira on Episode 10 of SPOA Housing Policy Series last year when they discussed their reporting before our audience. You will also find the link to that discussion below.
by Allen Hebert and Amir Shahsavari
