A woman was shocked to learn that a Florida City Commissioner moved into her deceased mother’s home and lived there for almost 2 years for free.
Kissimmee pro tem Mayor Sara Shaw was arrested after it was discovered that she and her boyfriend were squatters in the home of the deceased woman.
The bills were set up as automatic pay so the utilities were paid every month from the deceased woman’s bank account.
However, Shaw, who knows the laws well, said that she did not commit a crime. She referred a loophole that allowed her to live in the home.
Because of the adverse possession law, if nobody fights it, Sendtko would own the home without paying for it.
Shaw’s boyfriend, Peter Sendtko, had been around the deceased before she died.
Shaw and Sendtko moved into the home without permission in April 2014, and they filed adverse possession so they can eventually acquire the property without paying for it.
Sendtko is also accused of selling the deceased homeowner’s car to his mother.
The couple was arrested for theft because they used the elderly woman’s money to pay their bills without permission.
Shaw and Sendtko claim that they paid the homeowner’s taxes and they did thousands of dollars worth of construction on the property.
Shaw was released from the Osceola County jail after posting $3,500 bond. Sendtko was being held on $6,000 bond.
Now, the deceased woman’s daughter, who is the rightful owner of the home, said that she will take Shaw and Sendtko to court to have them evicted.
This is not the first time that she was on the wrong side of the law. In 2014, Shaw was arrested after she was pulled over for driving over 100 miles per hour in a city vehicle.
Shortly after that incident, city commissioners were banned from using city vehicles.