*Gothic High Tech.
http://www.impactlab.net/2010/09/24/high-end-mansion-squatting-is-a-growing-trend-around-the-u-s/
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In Sugar Grove, Ill., a suburb west of Chicago, cops arrested 42-year-old Steven Hawthorne in April 2009 after he moved his furniture and big-screen TV into a vacant, $700,000 foreclosed home. He introduced himself to neighbors as the new owner and stayed for about eight months. Hawthorne, who also managed to have the power, gas and water turned on at the dwelling, was eventually charged by authorities with two felonies, including theft of government property (the utilities).
In Malibu, Calif., Wells Fargo executive Cheronda Guyton occasionally occupied a $14.9 million beach house to host swanky social gatherings, according to newspaper reports. One catch: the property’s former owners had lost the home to foreclosure after they were victimized by Bernie Madoff – and the estate was claimed by their bank – that’s right, Wells Fargo. When residents within the gated community glimpsed the parties, they got Guyton’s name from security guards and turned her in. Wells Fargo fired Guyton in September 2009.
In the Seattle suburbs, a small group – nicknamed the “Mansion Squatters” – has taken a more creative approach. In June, one of its members, Jill E. Lane, 30, moved into a foreclosed and vacant 8,000-square-foot-home in Kirkland, Wash. valued at $3.3 million. She posted a note on the front door that read: “Privately owned property. Not for sale.”
The home takeover attempt also involved James McClung, a former real-estate agent and owner of a business called NW Note Elimination. He reportedly runs that business with Lane. Police soon arrested Lane on a criminal trespass charge.
Lane told the Seattle Times that her squatting was part of a protest movement: “Banks do whatever they want and nobody holds them accountable. It makes me ill to see what the banks are doing. They aren’t using their bailout money to help anyone. So I’m standing up for the people who are being brutalized by banks every day.”
In August, McLung apparently tried to stake claims to three more Seattle-area mansions, including a $2.2 million home in Bellevue. He posted similar notes on the doors of all three homes, according to the Seattle Times. Mark von der Burg, real estate agent for both the $3.3 million Kirkland property and for the Bellevue luxury home, did not return several phone messages seeking an interview.
According to media reports, Lane’s short stay in Kirkland cost von der Burg’s client, a bank, $35,000 in legal fees and locksmith bills as well as increased security and cleaning.
Nelson said the targeted homes in the Seattle area were all owned by failed banks....
