Nathalie Heil Accused Of Charging Rent For Home She Didn't Own

Woman Allegedly Charged $13,000 In Rent For Home She Didn't Own

Renting out a home is a standard way that homeowners and investors make extra money, but the person collecting the rent is supposed to actually own the house being rented.

Officials in Palm Beach, Fla., say Nathalie Heil didn't let the little technicality of not actually owning the home she was renting out stop her from collecting $13,000 from two tenants.

Heil, 30, was arrested on Friday and charged with grand theft and fraud, and was released Saturday after posting $6,000 bond, according to the Palm Beach Post.

The home was in foreclosure and had been vacant since 2011 -- except for two women who were paying $1,500 dollars rent to Heil after answering an ad on craigslist.com, WPTV-TV reported.

Heil reportedly had been charging the rent since June until the actual homeowners discovered the alleged scheme in January.

She told authorities that she thought she had possession of the house after she filed papers for an “adverse possession,” an old Florida law that allows squatters to take ownership of a property if they live there for seven years and pay taxes, according to OpposingViews.com.

However, police say there were no documents located to back up her story, Geobeats reported.

Heil said her arrest has been hard on her and that she has received death threats since her case was reported.

"I’m freaking out," she said, according to the Palm Beach Post. "I have a full-time job and I’m a single mom."

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