A homeowner was left baffled when she walked into her property to find another family living inside.
Eventually, Linda Jiang was locked out of her own home in Houston, Texas, by the squatters who claimed to have a legitimate lease.
A woman identified as Tamisha Holmes-Bey and several others had been living in the house for almost a month before Ms Jiang discovered them.
Despite calling the police, Ms Jiang was initially told that it was a civil matter and that she had to go through the eviction process.
A woman who appeared from the house when a reporter showed up claimed that she had signed a legitimate lease with an alleged realtor and had paid $6,000 (£4800).
But public records obtained by ABC13 showed that Holmes-Bey had lived in Texas for decades and also had a history of eviction records.
"They locked me out of my own property," a clearly exasperated Ms Giang said at the time. "That's crazy!"
"I had the keys with me and walked in and discovered a family of five living in there. And she says she has a lease contract and actually emailed me the lease contract," Ms Giang said.
She added: "They broke into my house. They're trespassing. That should be a criminal trespass. They're violating my privacy. This is my property."
A woman insisted that she had a right to stay on the property when confronted by a reporter.
During a news broadcast, a woman was captured arguing and walking away annoyed after insisting that she knows nothing about the situation and that she rented the house from a realtor to house herself and her kids.
The woman said she did not know "what's going on", telling the ABC reporter that she moved in from California with her children to "start a new life."
She went on to claim she had paid $6,000 to rent the home and gave the cash to a "realtor."
"I'm not trespassing. I have a lease, and I paid $6,000," she said.
CCTV video showed locksmiths arriving to change the locks on the house last weekend but without authorisation by Ms Giang or her husband, despite their names being listed in real estate records as thehome owners.
The situation took a turn when Houston police detectives determined that the lease was fraudulent and told Holmes-Bey she had until Monday to leave or face trespassing charges.
By Monday morning, the squatters were gone, and the home was empty.
According to Texas law, a squatter can take up residence in a vacant property if it is open, available, and without proper security.
After meeting the state-required criteria, they can eventually claim adverse possession, and gain ownership rights to the property.
After this, they are no longer an illegal trespasser but entirely legitimate titleholders of the previously vacant property.
Ms Jiang expressed frustration with the situation and said she hopes that legislators will do something to protect homeowners in similar situations.
For now, she has taken the home off the rental market, added security, and is considering selling the house.
"It was very frustrating, having to deal with this, but now I'm happy she's gone, and I'm hoping legislators will do something and change the law and protect homeowners rather than the squatters," Jiang said.
Commenting on the incident, eviction attorney Brian Cweren said these situations have increased in recent years.
"We're seeing a rise in this kind of fraudulent document, people breaking into nice homes, trying to squat there. We're seeing a rise," he said. "I've been doing it for 25 years. I can't say I've seen as much as years past."
