Cops Pinch South Jersey Man For Allegedly Hijacking Possession Of Vacant Foreclosed Homes, Then Pocketing Over $12K By Renting Them Out To Unwitting Tenants; Cops Won't Boot Victims, Leaving Mess For The Banks To Clean Up

In Monroe Township, New Jersey, nj.com reports:

• Police say a Camden man broke into foreclosed properties and rented them out to unwitting victims. Authorities believe he has pulled the scam in many towns around South Jersey, according to Monroe Township Police.
  
  Levar Michael Taylor (aka Raymond Erving), 38, allegedly entered two foreclosed properties in Monroe, [...]. Utilities were illegally turned back on and winterization stickers placed on the closed-up homes were scraped off, police said. Taylor then posed as an agent to lease the properties.
  
  Taylor allegedly received more than $12,000 from people seeking to lease the homes for cash in Monroe Township, police said.
  
  The transactions were conducted under Taylor's name and his company, Financial Adjustment Bureau Corp. Neither Taylor nor FAB Corp. are licensed to conduct real estate transactions, police said.
  
  Investigators have identified other victims in surrounding counties, police said, and are asking anyone who did business with Taylor to contact them. Police believe he has pulled similar scams in Mount Holly, Pennsauken, Willingboro and Woodbury, among other towns.
  
  "If you have rented, leased or purchased a home from Mr. Taylor or the Financial Adjustment Bureau Corp., we encourage you to contact your local police department," police said in a release.
  
  Anyone with information may also contact Monroe Detective Derrick Jacobus at 856-728-9800, ext 501.
  
  Police became aware of the alleged crimes when neighbors called to report squatters in the foreclosed homes, Jacobus explained. When officers came to the homes, the residents showed them the bogus lease agreements. The victims were able to identify Taylor as the "agent."
  
  The renters are still living in the homes, Jacobus said. "Law enforcement cannot evict them," he noted. It will be up to the banks owning the foreclosed properties to determine how to proceed.
  
  Taylor was charged with two counts of burglary, theft by deception, identity theft, forgery, criminal mischief and failure to register as a sex offender.
  
  He was placed in Salem County Correctional Facility on $75,000 bail.

For the story, see N.J. man broke into foreclosed homes and leased them, cops say.