A husband and wife have been arrested, accused of bilking multiple families out of thousands of dollars in rent for the same house in Bradenton.

The bizarre scam was first uncovered in a Better Call Behnken investigation back in April. Numerous families stepped forward to say they were victims and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office issued warrants for the “landlords.”

The pair, Vincent Rizzo and Cerasela Rizzo, were arrested in South Carolina and posted a bond of $2,500 each. 

But now, law enforcement is looking for them again. The State Attorney’s Office upgraded the charges to second-degree felonies and new warrants were issued, according to Dave Bristow, spokesman for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. 

The sheriff’s office is currently searching for the couple to arrest them again. 

Megan Hickman was the first victim to step forward to share her story. Her family, including four children, were scammed out $4,500.

Their story is different than the rest of the victims, however. Since they moved in first, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office advised them to stay until someone evicts them.

Then, in another strange twist of events, the mother of one of the “landlords” stepped forward to say she owns the home.

Apparently, the mother and daughter were in a legal battle over the home. The mother tells Better Call Behnken that she believes her daughter used this scam as a way to make a lot of money quickly on the house. 

Since our first report, the mother agreed to continue Hickman’s one-year-old lease and allow her family to remain in the home.

Hickman says at least seven other families have shown up to move in after her family was already living in the home.

Another set of victims, Jacqui Krueger and her husband, signed a rental agreement and paid more than $3,140. It was when they showed up to move in that they discovered that the would-be landlords scammed them. 

“They were fine. Calm, normal, relatable,” Krueger said. 

Krueger and her family, including their 10-year-old son, were crushed. They had been excited to leave their small apartment. 

“The house is right down from a good fishing spot, so Preston was looking forward to doing some fishing and kind of having a yard again,” Krueger said. “It was exciting, until it wasn’t.”