Growing up in Philadelphia, Jalen Absolum lived in a rental property where he was exposed to dangerous levels of lead paint.

He suffered serious health problems, including learning disabilities. The Philadelphia Inquirer featured his story as part of an investigative series called “Toxic City."

Absolum filed a lawsuit against a local judge who owned the home and won a settlement that he could tap into when he turned 18.

When that money became available last year, Absolum thought about how he moved a lot as a child because of his family’s financial struggles.

“I just wanted to be somewhere where I could finally call home,” Absolum said. “My home, anyway.”

His search brought him about 100 miles down Interstate 95 to Baltimore, where he bought a home for $115,000. He and his mother paid for an inspection, purchased homeowner’s insurance and switched over the utilities.

But, several hours after closing on the property in cash on Oct. 21, Absolum discovered a problem. A family was living inside the home and claimed they had a lease.

It’s a situation that sometimes unfolds in the city, where scammers take advantage of lower-income people who have limited options for housing.

“He was a victim once, and he’s a victim again,” said his mother, Avril Absolum. “He did the right thing. And there were people in his house.”

‘This is crazy’

Instead of moving into the house, Jalen Absolum and his sister, Janiene Smith, called Baltimore Police.

“What’s going on today?” Officer Donovan Seaberry can be seen on body-camera video asking after arriving at the home on Riggs Avenue in the Mosher neighborhood.

Smith explained that, when she and her brother walked up to the house, they noticed that the lockbox was broken. They had no idea who the people in the home were and if they might be dangerous.

Seaberry called for backup.

When Seaberry knocked on the door, Dashawn Taylor answered and told officers his family had a lease.

The home was full of furniture, artwork and other belongings.

“OK,” Seaberry said. “Do me a favor. Grab that lease.”

“I got it in my pocket,” Taylor said. “I was waiting.”

Taylor said he saw a post about the house on Citizen, a public safety app that sends real-time alerts about nearby crimes, fires and other emergencies.

His mother, Lakisha Taylor, told police they found the listing for the home on Facebook Marketplace and paid $4,800 to cover the security deposit, rent and water bills in cash.

“I’m telling you, I’m not that type of person,” she said. “I work.”

Police informed the Taylors they were likely the victims of a scam. But officers also told Absolum and Smith their hands were tied.

“We’re frustrated, because this is crazy,” Officer Jaylin Vega said. “I feel bad for you guys. I feel bad for them, because they got scammed, and I feel bad for you guys that you got to go through all this. It happens a lot.”

Next, they would find themselves in court.

‘It’s heartbreaking’

Unauthorized leasing harms both property owners and renters.

Low-income renters have few options and can fall victim to scams, said Zafar Shah, advocacy director for the human right to housing at Maryland Legal Aid, the state’s largest provider of free civil legal services.

That’s because he said they’re limited to looking at affordably low-rent properties and often lack the credit scores and tenant screening histories to choose from housing in different neighborhoods.

People who are wealthier have a lot more choices and often use mainstream websites including Zillow, Apartments.com and Rent.com to find places to live, Shah said. Even if they’re turned down from one property, they might have five or six other places from which to choose.

Meanwhile, Shah said, those with fewer resources many times find housing through word of mouth or community bulletin boards.

Shah said he’s even seen people he described as the “barnacles at the bottom of a really exploitative rental market” approach tenants in court who’ve just been evicted and hand them a card.

Lawmakers in 2025 passed a bill to speed up the legal process for removing people who do not have permission to live in a property.

The legislation, among other changes, requires judges to hold a hearing within 10 business days after someone files a complaint in court to remove unauthorized occupants.

That’s only the start of the process. Those who prevail in these cases have to take additional steps in court and with the sheriff’s office to get people out of their homes.

“The purpose of this bill is to create a law in Maryland to prevent criminals from breaking into homes and living rent-free while the homeowners have no way to get back their homes unless they go through a very lengthy and costly process,” state Sen. Ron Watson, a Democrat from Prince George’s County who sponsored the legislation, said at a hearing on the bill. “Not only is this unfair to the homeowner, but it’s an injustice.”

But Shah said there needs to be a comprehensive solution to the issue.

“It’s very dangerous that there are proposals out there to just skip a court process altogether. I think that comes from a desire to hit this problem with a sledgehammer,” Shah said. “There just has to be a patchwork of solutions.”

In the 17 years that he’s been working in housing policy and landlord-tenant law in Maryland, Matt Hill said, he’s encountered so-called “scamlords.”

“It’s heartbreaking,” said Hill, who’s the managing attorney at the Public Justice Center in Baltimore. “It’s heartbreaking for the property owners, and it’s heartbreaking for the single mom with three kids who just gave her last $3,000.”

Law enforcement, he said, should go after scammers.

Baltimore Sheriff Sam Cogen said it’s “just very difficult to investigate these cases.”

People often give cash to scammers or send them money through platforms such as Cash App, which he said makes it basically impossible to get back. Scammers also use burner phones and fake social media accounts, Cogen said.

Many times, he said, people who’ve been victimized have never met the scammer in real life.

His office in 2024 received 745 complaints to remove unauthorized occupants and carried out 426 of those evictions. Those numbers dropped in 2025 to 554 and 366, respectively.

‘They clearly were victims of a scam’

On Nov. 25, Absolum traveled to the Mabel H. Hubbard District Courthouse in Mount Vernon with his mother and sister to try to get their home back.

The Taylors also showed up and sat on the opposite side of the courtroom.

Baltimore District Judge Marnell A. Cooper requested proof that Absolum owned the house, and he handed up a certified copy of the deed.

Following a short break, Cooper asked Absolum how he would like to proceed.

“I think I would go straight to the police — I forgot what the option is named again — sheriff eviction,” Absolum replied.

“OK,” Cooper asked. “So you want the court to rule?”

“Yes,” Absolum responded.

Cooper then ruled that Jalen and Avril Absolum were the rightful owners of the property.

“Testimony has shown that the defendants, Mr. and Ms. Taylor, are currently in possession of the premises,” Cooper said. “Unfortunately, Mr. and Ms. Taylor do not hold any legal right to have possession of the premises, although they clearly were victims of a scam.”

But Cooper held that the Absolums could not immediately take further action. They would have to wait until after Christmas.

He has yet to move into the house.