Cops: Squatter Said He Was "Acting As Part Of Obama's Plan"

A new study shows one in six houses in Florida sit vacant right now. Deputies say one man took advantage of that and moved in to an empty house off Wekiva Springs Road in Apopka without paying.

Aaron Winans and his wife were living in the house on Palm View Drive (see map) for nearly a month. The problem is, it's not theirs.

Neighbor John Tilelli is shocked.

"She was fit and expecting and he looked like a normal guy, so we had no reason to believe anything else," he told WFTV.

The house was empty because it's being foreclosed. The Orange County Sheriff's Office says Winans broke into the house to live there. When the owner's real estate agent came by the house, the lock box for her keys was missing and so was her 'for sale' sign in the front yard.

When she saw furniture through the window, she called the police. Now, 40-year-old Aaron Winans is paying because the sheriff's office is charging him with grand theft; often, the charges are only trespassing and stealing utilities.

Winans told deputies he was "acting as part of President Obama's plan to recapture and revitalize abandoned properties."

Winans bonded out, so WFTV called him to ask what he meant, but he didn't answer.

"From my one interaction with them, I had no reason to believe anything funny was going on," Tilelli said.

Tilelli wants someone living in the house so it can be maintained. He just hopes next time they pay for it.

Winans is out on $5,000 bond. If convicted, he faces up to 30 years in prison.