Father, daughter accused of squatting in homes being renovated after Hurricane Ida, falsifying documents claiming they owned land

ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST PARISH, La. (WAFB) - The St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office is warning the public about a pretty bizarre scheme.

Deputies arrested two people accused of moving into a vacant home that wasn’t theirs and going through some pretty extreme steps to make it look like they owned it.

A man and woman claiming to be “sovereign citizens,” Lewis Giles Jr. 50, and his daughter, Kayla LaShawn Giles, 23, both of LaPlace, were arrested Thursday, June 15, 2023, in connection to a major financial crimes investigation conducted by the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said through the use of mail and falsified public filings, both Giles Jr. and his daughter conspired to unlawfully deprive and remove/evict the proper registered owners of the respective residences from the public record.

The owner of a home in the parish caught the ordeal on video, of him confronting Giles Jr. who was basically squatting in his place for quite some time, while it was being renovated after Hurricane Ida.

“The victim when he was confronted by Mr. Giles, he was really standoffish with the victim, and basically told him to get off my property. So, it’d be like coming home and somebody’s walking or driving around a particular parish, and window shopping for a new home, when they have no legal right to the house,” said Detective Lieutenant Michael Shard, with the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“Mr. Giles may be looking to take someone’s home ….. again, right now. He will actually challenge you - even fight you - for your own home,” Sheriff Mike Tregre said. “That causes me great concern. …. People need to be aware of this type of activity in our local neighborhoods and surrounding communities. …. He will move into and try to take ownership of an empty home.”

“They don’t believe they’re subject to the laws of the local state and federal government, so they have kind of the ideology that they are straw men for the government, and that the government has put some type of value on them as a person,” said Detective Lieutenant Shard.

Deputies said the pair was able to use mail with the property’s address to file a bogus deed with the parish Clerk of Court office, and they’re accused of doing it to several homes.

“Not only is the landowner revictimized, but most of the homes that are being chosen also seem to be houses that either are in flux of being repaired and, or possibly up for some other issues where the homeowners would not be there,” said Detective Lieutenant Shard.

Shard said the majority of these victims were recovering from Hurricane Ida.

He urges homeowners if they are getting renovations on a home, or just have an extra property in general, to be vigilant and suspicious of weird mail, and reach out to officials regularly to make sure your titles and documents are in order.

“Really, it has to come down to the consumers and the owner of the home to be that vigilant. Because they might receive mail, it is very possible that you could have your address forwarded by someone looking to do some kind of document fraud. So, it’s best to check with the postal service, and make sure you had no unauthorized forwarding of your address to another home,” said Detective Lieutenant Shard.

Deputies said in a previous financial crimes investigation along with this current case, Lewis Giles now faces nearly 150 charges of false public filings.

Sheriff Tregre encourages property owners to take steps to protect their empty residences.

He urges property owners to regularly inspect the property for damages and signs of squatters. Keep up the grounds and residence as much as possible. Keep in touch with your next-door neighbors and ask them to keep a watchful eye on your property. Make sure to pay property taxes. Block entrances, including windows to prevent a squatter from entering the property. Regularly check your mail. Property owners also need to keep in touch with the parish’s Assessor’s Office and Clerk of Court’s Office.

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