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Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

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21–30 of 98 posts

Re: Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

#21

Whatever happened to physically grabbing someone and violently throwing them out of your house?

You cannot violently throw a tenant out of their apartment, because that is a violent crime. You can violently repel an intruder in self-defense, but if you have actually rented an apartment to someone, they are not an intruder. If, after first renting to them, you later believe they should leave—and they disagree—then you have a dispute about the terms and duration of rental. (It might be a really one-sided dispute in which one side is clearly in the right, but it's still a civil dispute.)

If their previously lawful residence has become unlawful (e.g. as a result of a failure to pay rent, becoming a nuisance, exceeding an agreed duration, etc.), in that case you proceed in a peaceful, legal fashion: you first give them formal notice that they are required to vacate the property; and if they fail to do so, you get a court order instructing the police or sheriff to remove them. The precise series of steps, and how many days they have to respond, varies by country and state/province (and may also depend on length of occupancy, usually shorter-term tenants being given fewer protections). You cannot yourself adjudicate and enforce the dispute, because vigilante justice is disfavored in most civilized countries. If, say, a client failed to pay your contracting bill for a job they owe you money for, you cannot walk into their cafeteria with a baseball bat, threaten the cashier, and seize the money that is legitimately yours. Instead you have to sue them in court, get a judgment, and then have the judgment enforced. There are ways you are allowed to enforce your legitimate claim, and ways that are... not allowed.

Re: Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

#22
There's legal and then there's moral. These scumbags lack basic human tact. I wouldn't ever think of doing something like this to somebody even if I were in the legal side of the law. I hope they get what's coming to them in spades.

Airbnb should do everything in their power to help out this poor owner or it will set a dangerous precedent for future hosts.

Re: Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

#24
post #3

I'm pretty interested in the output of this lawsuit. But i think that Air Bnb, as it's kinda their business, would have spot such a big loophole in the law if staying 30d in a rental indeed gave people rights over the house-owner, no? I guess the guy is just trying to stay for free until the case is closed and cops are putting him out.

[deleted]

Re: Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

#26
post #14
post #2

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/23/travel/airbnb-squatters/ a cnn story too,an interesting one. So the guys ran 2 scams on kickstarter and is now scamming an airbnb host... well not really ,since he is just using the law against his host. > Eviction procedures in California can be lengthy and complicated, often taking three to six months to evict a tenant. http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-host-cant-get-squatter..…

> I would be the owner i would not ,care.I would break the door and a few windows.and camp in front of the condo/house,while waiting for the guy to leave. It's probably really important that owners don't do this - renters (even terrible renters) have some legal protections and intimidation is a quick way to increase the legal costs and possibly end up in jail. EDIT: Wait, did you put "nut case" in after I posted? I m…

The owner is doing exactly the right thing here: turn the media loose & Airbnb will hopefully cover her losses.

The scammer - Maksym Pashanin - is essentially trading what was left of his reputation for just a few thousand bucks. Heroin's a hell of a drug.

Edit: added scammer's name in case he uses some bullshit right to be forgotten on other articles.

Re: Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

#28

Could the homeowner not simply have her power shut off to hasten the removal of these pests? If they're game developers, they'd be dependent on electricity.

There is a sms exchange here [0] where he does in fact say he does require electricity, and if they cut it off, he will press charges for blackmail and damages.

Unfortunately it seems it will only be resolved with a lengthy eviction process.

It is also interesting that there problems within the first few days.

[0] http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-host-cant-get-squatter...

Re: Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

#29
post #14
post #2

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/07/23/travel/airbnb-squatters/ a cnn story too,an interesting one. So the guys ran 2 scams on kickstarter and is now scamming an airbnb host... well not really ,since he is just using the law against his host. > Eviction procedures in California can be lengthy and complicated, often taking three to six months to evict a tenant. http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-host-cant-get-squatter..…

> I would be the owner i would not ,care.I would break the door and a few windows.and camp in front of the condo/house,while waiting for the guy to leave. It's probably really important that owners don't do this - renters (even terrible renters) have some legal protections and intimidation is a quick way to increase the legal costs and possibly end up in jail. EDIT: Wait, did you put "nut case" in after I posted? I m…

[deleted]

Re: Notorious Airbnb squatter may be the dev behind two flailing Kickstarter games

#30
What we must have is a network that enables a peer-to-peer trust rating for individuals. Sort of like Yelp, but for people.

No doubt such a system would be a huge privacy problem for people as people would say that negative reviews reveal their private facts, or that those reviews are defamation.

However, if the network is decentralized, then it might be possible to keep it running even in the face of opposition from state actors.

If we have a peer-to-peer rating/reputation network in place, it would allow people to bypass the elitist inside networks (old boys clubs) to raise capital from investors based on mass positive reputation.

Rascals and scammers like these failed Kickstarter bros would be shut down after a single scam ... they would not be able to rent or scam another person after a single scam.

Implementing a centralized reputation system would be a good first step.

I understand why Yelp and other established companies don't want to be in this business. Its a liability/privacy nightmare.

Imagine the first time some innocent girl in high school is unjustly called a slut, and is defamed by her own school as part of some bullying clique.

I believe the network can ameliorate if not outright prevent such clique abuse by enabling users to rate reviewers based on the reviews they have given. If you abuse people with your reviews and ratings, it can damage your own ratings.

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