A woman referred to as a “serial squatter” by authorities was sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud after being evicted nearly three dozen times under multiple aliases.
Heather Ruybal was found guilty of felony fraud after using her father’s name and writing a bad check to rent a house in 2023 in Rowlett, Texas, just outside of Dallas. She never paid any rent, left the property reeking of urine and cigarettes, and littered it with trash.
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She was given the maximum sentence on Aug. 31 and ordered to pay $40,000 in restitution to the victim, Jessica Davis, who rented the property through Zillow — and ended up losing the home after she wasn’t able to make mortgage payments.
After Dozens of evictions
A previous landlord of Ruybal’s in Colorado, Stephanie Williams, told Denver7 that she allegedly contaminated her property with methamphetamine in 2024. While she was paying rent (at first), she stopped, moved out and had her son move in without permission.
“This is what she did for a living — moved into individuals’ homes knowing that she wasn’t going to pay her rent, then exploit the eviction process,” Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Amber Moore told Denver7, which covered the news of Ruybal’s sentence. Moore added that she had “no remorse.”…