Fake landlord rented out home

SILVER SPRINGS SHORES, Fla., July 21 (UPI) -- A Florida man says he discovered he was making payments for several months to a man who rented him a home he did not own.

Carl Kopsho of Silver Springs Shores said he began paying $800 per month to the man who rented him the home in February, only to be told by Marion County Sheriff's deputies Wednesday his supposed landlord did not own the house, the Ocala (Fla.) Star-Banner reported Monday.

Kopsho said he met the man, who used the name Tyrone Grain, at a gas station in January while talking to a friend about his search for a new home. He said Grain told him he was in the process of a divorce and was seeking to rent out the house.

However, the house actually belongs to Sebastian Wagner, a man who lives in New York.

Authorities have yet to track down Grain, who Kopsho said had only accepted his rent payments in cash.

Kopsho said he is hoping Wagner will allow him to continue to rent the home, as he has already painted the walls and made plans to install new cabinets.

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