‘Professional Renters’: Serial Fraudsters Avoid Criminal Prosecutions in Worcester County – NBC Boston

Although one couple owed victims thousands of dollars and had at least 16 eviction cases on their record, they have escaped without serious consequences despite their pattern of behavior, which included giving bad checks and submitting false documents in order to live rent-free in Massachusetts for the past two decades.

So why were the Callahans, known in housing circles as “professional renters,” able to escape prosecution?

An ongoing NBC10 investigation found that authorities are treating the incidents not as crimes, but as “housing court cases.”

Real estate agent Karynsue Marchione-Reilly recalls listing a house in Shrewsbury for rent in 2017. The property featured granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and a yard overlooking Lake Quinsigamond.

When Russell and Linda Callahan stopped by to view the property, Marchione-Reilly recounted how excited the couple was about where they would hang curtains and decorate other rooms in the house.

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After the appointment, Marchione-Reilly said, the couple followed her into her office to fill out a rental application. The agent noticed that the Callahans had a truck full of furniture, and they seemed willing to put down a $5,000 deposit to secure the property.

“I told them I couldn’t take a check because it wasn’t authorized,” Marchione-Reilly said. “They were in a hurry to collect, and I told them I wasn’t going to make a decision right away.”

About an hour later, however, she received a call from the property owner, who had been informed that utilities had already been switched to the Callahans, Marchione-Reilly said.

The real estate agent then sat down at her computer and searched online for the couple’s tenancy court records, which revealed an ongoing series of evictions for nonpayment of rent.

“I literally panicked,” Marchione-Reilly said. “I went to the police station and one of the officers told me they couldn’t do anything because this was housing court. I said, ‘You’re trying to move in without a permit. Isn’t that against the law?’ He replied that I had to sue them.”

Marchione-Reilly eventually managed to get a restraining order and texted the Callahans a picture of the document, then rushed to the rental property to check.

When she arrived, she found that all the windows were unlocked when the Callahans toured the property.

“They wanted to squat over the weekend, but we ended up catching them,” said Marchione-Reilly. “I tell everyone the story because you can’t make this stuff up!”

Add it to the list of crazy stories about the Callahans. According to NBC10, the couple has been evicted more than 20 times in Massachusetts and Florida over the past two decades, with judgments for unpaid rent topping well over $100,000.

Sitanshu Sinha

A Shrewsbury couple learned just how notorious the Callahans are in Worcester County when they called a moving company last year to get a quote for an eviction lawsuit.

“The guy asked for the name of the person I was supposed to evict,” Sitanshu Sinha recalled. “I told him Russell and Linda’s names. Two minutes later, he came back with an exact number, not an estimate. He said they had relocated them several times and that was the amount it would cost me.”

This move ultimately cost Sinha more than $7,000, in addition to legal fees and the unpaid rent he owed.

Our review of housing court records revealed that the Callahans’ past is no secret at the Worcester courthouse, either.

Attorney Henry Raphaelson has been involved with the Callahans in at least six eviction cases.

“They certainly have the most debt of anybody I’ve seen in Worcester County,” Raphaelson told us.

Court audio recordings available to us indicate that Russell Callahan frequently represented himself in cases, filing motions and making arguments to delay the eviction process.

Attorney Rich Vetstein provided us with a video he took last year during the eviction of the Callahans from his client’s property. In the court recording, he pleaded with the judge not to extend any more deadlines.

“My client wants them out,” Vetstein said during the hearing. “They are essentially victims of a fraud. I could say much worse, but I will refrain from saying so.”

During the Callahans’ recent eviction, in which they used the surname “O’Callagham” on paperwork to avoid detection when Sinha rented his Shrewsbury home, Russell Callahan avoided answering questions under oath.

“I won’t answer that without legal representation,” Russell Callahan said when Sinha’s lawyer asked him what name he had used in the rental process.

Judge Sergio Carvajal, who presided over the housing court case, did not mince his words.

“I don’t believe what you’re saying, sir. Actually, I don’t believe anything you’ve said,” Carvajal told Russell Callahan. “I find you to be evasive and not particularly forthcoming.”

In one of the few cases we found where a criminal charge was filed for the willful breach of a check used to secure a rental property, the case barely made it past trial.

In Westborough District Court, a Worcester County prosecutor argued that there was reasonable suspicion that a crime had been committed and that the case should be pursued further.

Judge Timothy Bibaud was not convinced.

“The motion to dismiss is admissible,” Bibaud decided. “This belongs before the housing court.”

And so the pattern continues.

The Callahans have not responded to our calls, emails, or a letter to a Worcester County PO box, and no new address has appeared since their last eviction in late 2023.

Meanwhile, Sinha recently filed a complaint with Shrewsbury Police.

A spokesman for the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office said they do not comment on individual cases but review all reports to determine whether charges are appropriate.

We have also informed the Attorney General of Massachusetts of our findings.

“We are monitoring your reporting and cannot confirm or deny an investigation at this time,” a spokesman for the Attorney General told us.

Seven years later, Marchione-Reilly can’t believe the pair still haven’t been stopped.

“I knew they would get caught eventually,” she said. “But I didn’t know it would be investigated. They should be investigated by the police, not by you.”