Tracie and Myles Albert bought a house in Riverside, California in January 2020 fully expecting to move in. But for the last 14 months, the previous owner has refused to move out. The Alberts have been paying the mortgage for 14 months but were told by the Riverside Sheriff's department that they are forbidden to so much as step on the front lawn of their own home under penalty of trespassing.
From Inside Edition
The couple says they closed on the house in Jan. 2020, before any government moratorium on evictions were put in place.
"I definitely think it's a case of fraud that he knew he wasn't going to move out, staged boxes to make it look like he was going to move out and then stayed behind," the couple's attorney Dennis Block told Inside Edition.
The Alberts say the courts keep pushing their case back.
"I can't walk onto the lot, I've been told that would be trespassing. I've been there. The sheriffs have told me to leave," Tracie said.
The alleged squatter, Hossam Boktor, and his family have apparently stopped taking care of the property.
