A Florida woman dealt with a years-long legal battle after a group of illegal aliens squatted in her home for months.
Cathy Lindberg Jarosz was interviewed about the situation by the Independent Women’s Forum. In 2023, Lindberg moved to Destin, Florida to be near her daughter. At the time, she knew that she was going to be traveling internationally for many weeks and took that time to renovate her home.
Upon Lindberg’s return, she was greeted by a nightmare scenario.
“I drive to the house and see all this trash and debris and stuff, bad landscaping – really no landscaping on this house. I drive by it and I go, ‘God, where's my house?’ You know, it was a new house. So I go back and forth, trying to look for my house number, and I realized that thing is mine!” Lindberg told IWF of the first time she saw her home.
Inside the home, Lindberg saw wires popping out of the walls, the ceiling caving in, furniture left outside, destroyed artwork, and “semen stains” on beds and couches. Lots of furniture, as well as the belongings inside the kitchen cabinets, were stolen, as well.
🚨 ‘It Was A Nightmare’: Florida Woman Describes Years-Long Legal Battle After Illegal Immigrants Squatted In Her Home For Months | Read the story from @SarahHopeWilder: https://t.co/8SBIxrNVg6 pic.twitter.com/y52KJW4e8V
— IW Features (@iwfeatures) May 19, 2025
Lindberg and her husband spent thousands of dollars cleaning up the house. Apparently, the contractors lived in her home while she was traveling, though they were not invited to do so. Upon Lindberg’s return, some of the contractors tried to enter the house as she was sleeping. One morning, when she opened her bedroom curtains, a worker was sitting right there.
Predictably, Lindberg reached out to the sheriff’s office for help. She was reportedly told that but was told that because many of the contractors were likely illegal immigrants, local law enforcement couldn’t do much unless they were committing a crime. This was before Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law removing squatters’ rights in the state.
Lindberg placed signs in her yard warning the contractors to keep out. However, her neighborhood’s Homeowners Association threatened her with a $5,000 fine if she kept them up. Lindberg instigated a legal battle (via IWF):
The contractor she had hired for her home’s renovations, Ray Badillo, refused to show up in court for six months. Instead of working to hold Badillo accountable, the judge overseeing the case gave him extension after extension, she said.
“I watched illegals having their fourth DWIs [in the courtroom],” Lindberg said. “Judges would say to these immigrants, ‘Well, I am so glad you came, just be careful and stop drinking.’ It took everything in my power not to scream. I’m an attorney from Maryland, and I’ve never seen something like this carnival.”
Badillo eventually was arrested and found guilty in June 2024 and ordered to pay partial restitution, Lindberg said. The deciding factor in the case was an investigation by the Walton County state’s attorney’s office in December 2023, which found Badillo was not licensed. An unlicensed electrician by the name of Luis Alejandro Morales Alvarez, whom Badillo often hired, was also fined for his illegal business in April 2023, before Lindberg bought her home.
Lindberg said if she had known Badillo was operating an unlicensed business, she likely would have avoided hiring him in the first place. To that end, she also blasted her realtor, whom she is also suing, for being negligent in wholeheartedly recommending Badillo to her.
“I don’t know one realtor since 2016 that has not been scared that they’re going to be sued for negligence [if they endorse unlicensed contractors]. Did she knowingly put this guy in our hands? Did she know he’s going to steal?” Lindberg asked.
This month, Florida carried out Operation Tidal Wave to remove many illegal immigrants from the state. Many of them poured in during President Joe Biden’s tenure.
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