D.C. Squatter Flips the Script: Files $500K Lawsuit After Being Forced Out of Home [Video]

The legal drama surrounding D.C.’s most talked-about squatter has reached a new level of audacity as Shadija Romero is now the one filing a lawsuit.

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After being forced out of a Northeast home, Romero is demanding $500,000 from homeowner Rochanne Douglas. She alleges that “luxury items went missing” and she suffered “damages when she was put out” by the owner, who fought for months to reclaim the property.

Romero originally moved into the house as an Airbnb guest, using a story that “a fire destroyed everything she had” at her last place to gain sympathy. However, a deeper look into her history shows a calculated strategy. For years, she would “establish residency” by paying for a single month, then stay “rent-free for nearly a year” while “filing motions in court and applying for D.C. vouchers” to stall the legal system.

While she told the homeowners she was a victim of a fire, records tell a different story. Romero was actually “getting evicted from that property” where she “owed nearly $50,000 in back rent.” A fire did happen, but it was suspiciously limited to “just her unit” during the eviction. Her track record of “financial delinquency across the DMV” doesn’t stop at housing either; she has previously been “sued for not making payments on a car.

The situation finally shifted in December when a judge ruled that Romero “had no tenant rights” and that the Douglas family could “evict her and her property” as they chose.

Now, in a bold move, Romero is seeking a massive payout. In addition to the $500k suit against Douglas, she is also going after local activist “Dmvapartmentlady” for $30,000, claiming she’s the reason her stuff went missing during the chaos of the move.