Chicago Homeowner Says Squatters Took Over His Property And Demanded $8,000 So He Moved in Too — 'I Knew They Were Not Going to Like That'

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Marco Velazquez never expected to need backup just to enter his own Chicago home. But after a routine showing turned into a standoff with strangers living inside, he made a decision most homeowners wouldn't even consider: he moved in with them.
According to WLS-TV, Velazquez had listed his South Side property for sale. When his realtor arrived with a prospective buyer, the house was already occupied. A woman and a man claimed they had just purchased the home and even showed police what looked like mortgage documents.
But Cook County records showed no such mortgage existed.
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Velazquez says officers told him that due to current state law, they couldn't intervene. The matter would have to be handled in civil court.
"I said, 'I'm not going to leave.' Called a couple friends, stayed overnight and I knew they were not going to like that," Velazquez told WLS-TV.
He, his wife, and a few friends stayed in the living room. The alleged squatters — identified as Shermaine Powell-Gillard and her boyfriend, Codarro — stayed in one of the bedrooms. Rather than leave, the pair made a demand: $8,000 to vacate the property.
Velazquez ended up paying $4,300 in a signed cash-for-keys agreement to get them out — a move common with holdover tenants after an eviction or with former owners in foreclosure.
"We didn't want to give them money, but we heard really bad stories about squatters taking over properties for six, eight, 10 months, even a year," Velazquez said.
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He says a Chicago detective later informed him that Powell-Gillard was also accused in a similar situation involving another home in the city. In that case, she was arrested and charged with burglary, forgery, obstructing identification, and criminal trespassing.
Velazquez is now working with investigators and hopes something will come of his case as well.
"I heard stories before about squatters. I never thought it would happen to me," he said.
Powell-Gillard, for her part, denied the squatter claims, telling WLS-TV the accusations are "false and unfounded." The station reported that attempts to reach her alleged boyfriend were unsuccessful at the time of publication.
While "cash for keys" is more commonly used to encourage tenants to leave after foreclosure or lease disputes, some property owners have turned to it as a faster way to resolve squatter situations without waiting for a court order. In Velazquez's case, the $4,300 payout was a practical move to retake possession of the home he legally owned—without risking months of legal delays.
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This article Chicago Homeowner Says Squatters Took Over His Property And Demanded $8,000 So He Moved in Too — 'I Knew They Were Not Going to Like That' originally appeared on Benzinga.com