Victims of alleged Lehigh Acres rental scam receive help from SWFL residents

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LEHIGH ACRES, Fla.- Southwest Florida residents have stepped up to help a family who says they fell victim to a rental scam.

Raul Gil and his wife Lezlie Garcia say they paid for and moved into a rental house on Edgerton Avenue April 20 with their three young children. A few days later they were kicked out of the home after the homeowners notified the Lee County Sheriff’s Office that they were there illegally.

Thursday afternoon, two Lee County deputies told the family they had to be out of the house or they would be arrested. Garcia said they were under the impression the main they paid was the owner of the home, saying he even gave them keys to the house and had them sign a lease. They say they were scammed. The family said they had no money and nowhere to stay.

After WINK News first reported the story Thursday, countless offers to help the family poured into our newsroom.

“My call log full of people, I have text messages all day, I have these people that’s been texting me all night, all morning, just trying to help us to get going,” said Garcia.

The family is currently staying at the Microtel Inn and Suites. The hotel offered to let the family stay there for 30 days free of charge.

Friday, a crew with Southern Cross Moving Company out of Cape Coral let the family use their truck to move their belongings to a storage unit for free. Dozens of others have also offered assistance.

The family tells WINK News they are extremely grateful for all the support they’ve gotten from the community since the story first aired.

“For us to have a home and then just have it snatched from us, that’s everything we need is a roof over our heads in the meantime to find another place,” said Garcia. “A lot of people still calling and helping out, I just wanted to say thank you. We’re at a loss of words, and just to have people call has put as at ease.”

“Just the way people supported out here, it’s like family, it’s like having family out here,” said Gil.

The realtor with Coldwell Banker who removed the family from the home says he believes the members of the family are innocent victims of a horrible scam, but he was just doing what the homeowners asked him to.

The family says their main focus is now looking for a new home to rent.

WINK News is following the situation closely, alongside the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. There is an ongoing investigation and there are still a lot of unknowns. We want that to be very clear to everyone who is donating their hard earned money and time.

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