A North Charlotte homeowner is now in middle of a lengthy legal battle, attempting to remove unauthorized ‘squatters’ from her house.
Andrea Archie and her two daughters are technically now ‘squatting’ in the North Charlotte home, but she said she had no idea she was doing anything wrong when she first moved in.
Back in January a man in her old neighborhood approached her and asked if she wanted to rent the home, the man brought her to the home, opened the lock box, then presented her with a fake lease. She signed it, put the utilities in her name, and moved in.
It turns out that the man, Alvin Stout, was a con-artist who apparently had joined the lock-box service in order to gain access to the home. Alvin has a long criminal record in Charlotte, including drug possession and maintaining a dwelling to sell drugs.
Andrea and her family now plan on staying in the home for as long as they can while the legal battle plays out. She told reporters that after paying over $1,000 in security deposit, rent, and utilities, she doesn’t have enough money to move anywhere else.
Find out more about the case here on WCCB.