A serial squatter was sentenced to 20 years in prison for fraud after being evicted almost three dozen times and causing thousands of dollars in property damage in Texas and Colorado over the course of decades.
Heather Ruybal received the maximum penalty in Dallas on August 31, after being convicted of felony fraud on July 27 for using a fictitious name and submitting a bad check to lease a house in 2023, according to Denver7.
“This is how she made a living. Moore informed the publication that she had “no remorse” for her misdeeds and had moved into people’s houses knowing she wasn’t going to pay her rent and then exploited the eviction process.
Ruybal was convicted last month of using her father’s identity to rent a home in Rowlett, Texas, under the alias Heather Schwab and then failing to pay any rent after moving in, according to Dallas County Assistant District Attorney Amber Moore.
Ruybal was also forced to pay $40,000 in reparations to the victim, Jessica Davis, who rented the Rowlett, Texas, property via a Zillow listing.
According to Davis, Ruybal rented the residence under the name “Rayes Ruybal,” which is her father’s name.
When Ruybal finally moved out after months, Davis said the four-bedroom “dream” home smelled of urine and cigaret smoke and was cluttered with trash, food, and waste.
“Both toilets are clogged with mounds of toilet paper and other seemingly fluids,” Davis previously told Fox News.
Davis finally lost her home after being unable to make mortgage payments due to a loss of rental income, according to Denver7.
The hefty sentence came when prosecutors discovered Ruybal’s extensive criminal history, which revealed she had been a chronic fraud offender in Texas and Denver, with roughly three dozen evictions spanning more than two decades.
Moore stated that the court was authorized to increase Ruybal’s sentence based on a prior 2018 conviction in which she used her father’s and aunt’s identities to secure a lease in Colorado.
Ruybal was sentenced to six years in Colorado jail, but she was released after serving just over three years.
“We wanted the court to make sure the judge understands that she’s basically a career criminal,” Moore told the media.
Stephanie Williams, a Colorado landlord, told Denver7 that Ruybal reportedly contaminated her house with methamphetamine after renting her home to him in 2024.
Williams also stated that Ruybal had moved out but continued to pay rent until March, when it was discovered that Ruybal’s son had been living there without authorization while Ruybal was staying in Castle Rock, where she also ceased paying rent about the same time.
Back in Texas, Moore believes Ruybal will serve at least five years of her 20-year sentence before being eligible for parole.
“I hope it sends a message that her time is up,” Moore replied. “No longer is she going to be able to do something like this and get away with it.”
Ruybal is also facing felony charges in Denver for allegedly stealing over $500,000 from a former employer, according to Denver7.
According to an arrest document obtained by Denver7, Ruybal allegedly worked as a payroll manager and accountant for an undisclosed company for nearly two years, funneling funds to fictional employees and a shell corporation that were all tied to her personal bank accounts.
She made her first court appearance in that fraud case on Tuesday.
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