A Massachusetts couple has been accused of defrauding property owners out of over $100,000 by using forged documents to secure rental properties and then failing to pay rent. An investigation by NBC10 uncovered a scheme that allowed the couple to live in multiple properties without paying rent, evading legal consequences for nearly two decades.
Russell and Linda Callahan, a married couple from Worcester County, allegedly defrauded small property owners by submitting a stack of forged documents, including fake credit reports, background checks, and pay stubs, to secure rentals. They even went as far as listing their name as “O’Callagham” to avoid detection.
The most recent incident involved a Shrewsbury couple, Sitanshu Sinha and Shilpi Gupta, who rented their home to the Callahans. After the rent checks bounced, the couple spent $30,000 in eviction costs, funds they had set aside for their children’s college education.
The Callahans’ history of fraudulent activity spans over two decades and includes over 20 evictions in Massachusetts, as well as a brief period in Florida. In total, the couple has accumulated judgments for unpaid rent exceeding $100,000. Their victims include a variety of people, such as a single mother, a couple saving for a child, and a Navy veteran deployed overseas.
MaryLou Muirhead, a retired housing court judge, expressed her sadness after seeing how many people had been taken advantage of by the Callahans. Muirhead, who served on the bench for over 15 years, now teaches at New England Law in Boston and offered her expertise on how the couple managed to avoid serious consequences for their fraudulent actions.
Authorities are now pursuing criminal charges against Russell and Linda Callahan for larceny, forgery, and fraud.