American has been living for free for 20 years without paying mortgage on his house, and government can’t evict him

An American living in Long Island, New York, has lived in a three-bedroom house for more than 20 years without paying a single month’s mortgage rent and using all kinds of legal tricks to avoid being deported, to the point that in recent days he has received a new free pass from the courts.

His name is Guramrit Hanspal and he is 52 years old. The only payment he made on his mortgage dates back to 1998, when he “bought” it. He has since filed for bankruptcy several times and has filed countless lawsuits to avoid deportation.

According to court records, when Hanspal bought the house over 20 years ago, he had to pay the full amount of 290 thousand dollars, but he only met the first installment, about 1,602 dollars. Over time, the house has passed into the hands of three different owners since Washington Mutual repossessed the property in 2000 and none succeeded in expelling this man.

Now it is owned by Diamond Ridge Partners, who have again sued Hanspal in an attempt to finally get him off the property.

In a hearing last Wednesday in Nassau County Court, Judge William A. Hohauser agreed to delay the case after Hanspal’s lawyer William D. Friedman requested more time, saying his co-lawyer David Gevanter had been hired the day before.

“It is the last of about forty lawyers who appeared on the eve of a hearing”, Diamond Ridge attorney Jordan Katz told the judge in exasperation.

“It is very typical of the accused: he recycles lawyers to save more time”, said Max Sold, who works for Diamond Ridge. “This guy basically doesn’t care about the courts.”

At the hearing, Friedman accused Katz of using a “Scandalous language”.

According to statements by Hanspal’s lawyer to the local press, the fault of his client not paying the mortgage is the March 2020 eviction moratorium issued by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, alleging that the governor had paid the rent as a “moral obligation”. But when asked by reporters what that had to do with the 20 years of rent Hanspal had not paid, the lawyer hung up the phone.

Those who spoke to the press were lawyers from Diamond Ridge, who reiterated that the COVID-19 protections, which stopped the evictions, should not apply to Hanspal because he does not legally occupy the house.

“We don’t think the law was enforced to protect people like that”, He said.

Diamond Ridge wants to complete the case and evict Hanspal, as they point out that they already tried to come to terms with him when they acquired the property in 2018 and offered him $ 20,000 to leave. But since rejecting the offer, the company has been forced to pursue the costly lawsuits and continue paying property taxes on a home they own but cannot be used.

KEEP READING: