Kenny Luna believed he’d become the victim of a professional tenant after he met Shetial. 11Alive Investigates is not using her full name because she has not been charged with any crime. Luna figured out where she was headed next, with her two kids in tow, and reached out to ensure they didn’t become her next target. Then he contacted investigative reporter Rebecca Lindstrom.
“It was after she gave me a letter from her bank saying, 'We have your money, but we can't give it to you because you have fraud. So we have to hold on to this money,'” said Luna, who added that something about the letter didn’t seem right.
Two other landlords shared letters from banks they could never verify and one had a notarized letter that proved to have no basis in reality. All of the documents claimed Shetial was the victim of identity theft.
When Shetial was asked about it, she seemed confused, and responded with: “What are you talking about?”
When directly asked if she had paid her rent, her only response was to ask the 11Alive Investigates team to leave. Lindstrom left a business card in case she wanted to reach out later with an explanation. Shetial did call but still refused to answer any questions.
Court records show that Shetial has lived in at least six different homes in two years. All of her previous landlords were trying to collect some debt for unpaid rent.
Gary Lee, the owner of Academy Properties which helps manage rental homes throughout metro Atlanta, said the homeowner noticed red flags, but wanted to give her a chance. She moved in to the home in June of 2023 but had to start the eviction process two months later.
“Nonpayment," Lee explained. "She paid her first reservation fee, which bounced. Then she paid the deposit, which bounced again after she moved in."
Luna said what upset him most was that she was doing this with her two children.
“They're bouncing from house to house," Luna said. "That's not a way to live. That's not stable. She works for a place that's supposed to protect children."
Shetial put on her application and 11Alive confirmed that for five months she worked for Georgia’s Division of Family and Children Services. The reason given for her termination: falsifying documents.
No one tracks the scope of the problem, but Lee said in his 27 years of real estate and property management experience, about 20% of those who fall behind on rent are doing it on purpose. He said it’s getting worse.
“They're using the system. It's a broken system,” said Lee.
A tenant can challenge an eviction in what starts as a dispossessory action by filing a response with the court. It doesn't need to be an explanation or make any effort to refute the allegations. It just needs to be a response. Shetial wrote once, “I am filing an answer to this case.” According to court filings, in another case, she told the court she “tried to pay, but the landlord wouldn’t take her money.”
Luna finds that hard to believe.
“I basically told her, you know, are you going to pay anything before you leave?” Luna recalled. “And she literally said, 'No, I'm not paying you anything.'”
But that response can buy the tenant months to continue living rent-free. 11Alive Investigates surveyed counties around metro Atlanta, and most of the courts say they can hear cases in a matter of weeks, but the sheriff or marshal's office needed to serve those orders needs more time.
Gwinnett, Cobb, and Fulton counties say the wait right now ranges from four to six months due to the number of evictions accrued following the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing challenges.
According to the Joint Study for Housing Studies at Harvard University, single-family home rentals make up about a third of the rental market. But the people being hurt by these tenants aren’t big corporations. Instead, 11Alive has found they tend to be the "mom and pop" operations—families that inherited a house after a loved one passed or kept an old house when moving into another. Luna was renting his basement.
“We're talking about me and you that have one property or maybe two that they bought for an investment for their retirement,” said Lee, adding that rarely do the homeowners recoup that rent money. “It's just gone. Most of the time it's gone.”
Lee is aware of homeowners who have gone into foreclosure because of a bad tenant and the length of time to get them removed so the home can be put back on the market. He notes that the homeowner is often still paying a mortgage and there are always taxes.
“You know, we try to look at everybody within, you know, open heart and open mind,” said Lee.
Until they get burned by a professional tenant – ruining it for anyone who follows with a shaky credit history – that really is trying to get their finances back on track.
Shetial was convicted of theft in Clayton County but sentenced as a first offender, so the exact nature of her theft is sealed. She’s also accused of failing to pay for rented furniture and even cosmetic surgery.
According to one court filing, Shetial was paired with a woman out of Texas to provide emotional support around their cosmetic surgeries in Miami. Shetial told the woman her house was broken into and the balance to pay for her upcoming procedure was stolen. The woman agreed to pay for it, on the grounds Shetial reimburse her when the insurance reimbursement check arrived. More than two years later the woman said she’s never received a dime.
Breaking the terms of a lease, like not paying rent, is usually considered a civil matter, essentially breach of contract. But professional tenants move a lot, and likely have a history of providing false information, making them hard to hold accountable.
Gwinnett County District Attorney Patsy Austin-Gatson said this behavior can be prosecuted as a crime but couldn’t say under what charge, because each case is different. It would be up to the landlord to talk with police and the DA’s office to make the case.
Austin-Gatson said when there is an unpaid debt or a check bounces, the landlord should send a letter demanding payment within 10 days along with other action taken. That sets the clock and can be used as evidence if her office pursues the case.
“They should make sure that they send a 10 day letter to the resident, letting them know that you are violating criminal law and if that is the case, then that letter should be certified. And from there they can get a warrant for that person's address,” she explained.
After Rebecca Lindstrom confronted Shetial, a landlord in Buford said she paid them what she owed. They, like the DA recommended, told Shetial they were going to file a police report for the bad check she’d written if she didn’t come up with the money.
To note, most of the landlords 11Alive spoke with had money orders that were cancelled or simply couldn’t get her to pay at all. That’s why Austin-Gatson recommends a good background check and staying away from renters that have red flags in the first place.
Shetial’s current landlord said she’s paying on time.