I am so fucking pissed. I’m stunned, I’m outraged, I’m shocked, I’m dumbfounded, and I’m appalled.

Our deaf tenant had asked for an eviction notice so he could show Social Security he needed an advance on his funds. We gave him one, and he took it in; he then said they needed a day to process and promised to give us a check Wednesday morning. We didn’t see him at all yesterday, but around 11:15pm we heard him come home and do a lot of running up and down the stairs. We were both undressed and in bed with the lights off, so we didn’t get up to ask about our check. The front door closed for the last time at about 11:40pm.

This morning, A went downstairs and found mud tracked from the front door over the white throw rug, down the stairs, and up to his room. She called just before my alarm went off and asked if I would think of an excuse to flash his light (we set that up as an alternative to knocking). When I got downstairs I didn’t bother with the light, but rather listened at the door to see if I could hear anything. It was dead quiet, and I knew he wouldn’t hear if I opened the door, so I just peeked in. Everything was gone. Well, not quite everything. He left the futon and its blankets and pillows (the bed was even made), the remote light control from the knocking setup, and the rug. He also left one of our plates on a shelf and a bag of trash. He’d also left our TV where it was in the living room, and left some of his dishes in our kitchen.

Obviously he’d taken the $450 check advanced to him by Social Security and cashed it for himself, so I’m planning to report him for Social Security fraud. We contacted his ex-boyfriend, and it turns out they’d broken up because our former tenant had stolen things from the boyfriend, and owed him several hundred dollars. He’s willing to help out any way he can, so if we can find out that the damn con artist has done this before maybe we can establish a pattern of fraud and get a legal case against him. I don’t care if he goes to jail, or just has to pay us or Social Security the money, or what. I don’t give a damn what happens - even if nothing happens, but you better believe I’m going to follow this through. I refuse to sit back and let this guy fuck me over. Even though the former tenant left a key on the table near the front door, A called the locksmith immediately and left work early to meet him at the house. The locks have already been changed, so if the scumbag tries to come back and get his dishes or steal anything from us, he won’t be able to get in (assuming he made a copy of the key). I am so pissed off. I trusted this guy, and got screwed. Holy fucking hell.