A woman authorities called a “serial squatter” received a 20-year prison sentence for fraud after landlords evicted her nearly three dozen times under multiple aliases.
A jury found Heather Ruybal guilty of felony fraud after she used her father’s name and wrote 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.
A judge handed down the maximum sentence on Aug. 31 and ordered her 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 Ruybal allegedly contaminated her property with methamphetamine in 2024. She paid rent at first, but then 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.”
Texas prosecutors discovered that Ruybal had racked up nearly three dozen evictions over more than two decades, using her father’s and aunt’s identities along the way. That history allowed them to bump up the legal repercussions.
“We wanted the court to make sure the judge understands that she’s basically a career criminal,” Moore said. “I hope it sends a message that her time is up. No longer is she going to be able to do something like this and get away with it.”
A court previously sentenced Ruybal to six years in prison in 2018 for pulling the same scam with two properties in Adams County, Colorado, but she was released in 2020 after serving just 16 months of her sentence, according to the NY Post. She has used various aliases during her previous squatting scams, including “Jenkins” and “Rayes.”
Ruybal will likely serve at least five years of her 20-year sentence in Dallas. After that, she may become eligible for parole. She also faces felony charges in Denver for allegedly stealing more than $500,000 from a former employer.
“Squatter” rules in Texas and Colorado differ
Squatting means occupying a property without the owner’s permission, typically when a home sits vacant or abandoned. Squatting laws vary by state, and in some circumstances a person who has occupied a property for a long enough period can attempt to claim ownership through a legal doctrine known as adverse possession.
That does not mean someone can simply move into an empty house and become the owner, however. Adverse-possession laws generally require specific conditions, such as continuous, open and hostile possession for a legally defined period.
For homeowners in Dallas and elsewhere in Texas, the law has become particularly clear. Texas allows law enforcement to treat unauthorized occupation as potentially criminal conduct, including criminal trespass.
Texas Penal Code Section 30.05 makes it an offense for someone to enter or remain on another person’s property without effective consent after receiving notice that entry is forbidden or notice to leave. Depending on the circumstances, criminal trespass can be a misdemeanor. Texas also enacted a law allowing property owners to request that a sheriff or constable immediately remove certain unauthorized occupants from a dwelling, provided specific requirements are met.
Denver is different. Colorado doesn’t have the same standalone squatting offense. Lawmakers postponed a 2025 bill that would have created one indefinitely, and it ultimately landed in the “Lost” category. Colorado nevertheless has laws addressing unauthorized occupants and trespass, and property owners can pursue legal procedures to remove people occupying a home without permission.
Squatters don’t necessarily go to jail if they’re removed. Criminal liability depends on the circumstances and the laws where the property is located.
But Ruybal’s case is a bit different since she sometimes paid rent and then slowly stopped, making her a tenant in default. Still, courts have convicted her of felony fraud for abusing the eviction process over decades, earning her the nickname “serial squatter.”
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