A Cobb County man convicted of moving in tenants and collecting rent on dozens of homes he didn't own was sentenced Friday to 40 years in prison, Channel 2 Action News reported.
Last week, a jury found John Eugene Harris of Smyrna guilty of 34 counts including burglary, forgery, theft by taking and racketeering in a house-stealing scheme involving his company, “New Life Granted.”
Cobb County Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs handed down the sentence after prosecutors told the court there was no way any of Harris’ victims would ever see their money again.
During his trial, Harris testified on his behalf, saying his company would find homes that looked abandoned, take them over and move in its own tenants. New Life promised to help people facing foreclosure by restoring their credit and finding them a place to live.
The idea, he said, was lenders foreclosing on a house would be forced to accept the tenants Harris had placed there. But he admitted that toward the end, he began having doubts about the legality of the scheme.
“The money is gone,” Cobb Assistant District Attorney Jason Marbutt told the court Friday. “We can't get it back, so I'm asking he have a significant time in prison.”
The defense sought a shorter sentence so Harris could begin paying back his victims, but the judge was unmoved.
“You preyed on people at the worst times of their lives,” Grubbs told the defendant. “These were all good people” going through difficult times, “and you used that to your advantage.”
Harris’ defense attorney said his client would appeal the conviction.
Harris was arrested last October after investigators uncovered 19 cases of people who were duped into leasing homes from him. At the time, police said there could be hundreds of victims throughout metro Atlanta.
The 45-year-old man had been accused of posing as a leasing agent for the vacant residences – homes that typically were in foreclosure.
According to the charges against him, he broke into the dwellings, changed the locks and leased houses to unsuspecting families – collecting thousands of dollars in security deposits and rents that didn’t rightfully belong to him. Authorities said he was active in seven counties.
About the Author
