After months of watching strangers roll through her gates, Tamara McIlwain says she finally grabbed a pair of bolt cutters and took her 58-acre equestrian property near Davidson back.
McIlwain says a woman she knew as Jessica Springs had settled onto the land without paying a dime, even as the property sat listed for sale at $4.3 million. According to McIlwain, a seller-financed purchase agreement collapsed when multiple wire transfers from the would-be buyer never cleared. She says Springs was ultimately arrested on trespassing charges and later released on bond.
Owner says sale unraveled while visitors kept coming
McIlwain told reporters she put the sprawling horse property on the market in September, then agreed to a seller-financed deal with a buyer who promised to wire the funds. Instead, she says, the buyer sent several wires that never posted and repeatedly blew past payment deadlines.
During that time, McIlwain says unfamiliar people kept driving through her gates while the woman she identified as Springs stayed on the land. She says it was only after deputies arrested the woman this week that she felt able to change the locks and regain full control of the property, as reported by WCCB Charlotte.
What North Carolina law allows
North Carolina law treats entering or staying on someone else's land without permission as criminal trespass, with separate first-degree and second-degree charges. Under state statute, second-degree trespass is typically a Class 3 misdemeanor, while first-degree trespass is a Class 2 misdemeanor. The exact penalties can shift based on the person's conduct and the circumstances of the case, according to the North Carolina General Assembly.
Allegations trace back to earlier landlord complaints
In January 2024, WCCB Charlotte reported that a person using the names Jessica Springs or Latorra Williams had signed multiple leases around the Charlotte area and allegedly left landlords stuck with unpaid rent. In some cases, the tenant was accused of using other people's Social Security numbers.
One of those landlords, former Carolina Panther Austin Duke, told the station, “She’s causing financial harm and damage to people using, at this point, fraudulent information that’s not hers.” The earlier investigation also raised broader questions about how online rental listing platforms screen applicants and flag potential fraud.
How sellers can protect themselves
Local attorneys say cases like McIlwain's are a reminder that property owners should keep a tight grip on possession until money is firmly in the bank. That means waiting for funds to fully clear, routing payments through escrow or a reputable title company, and double-checking identities with multiple forms of documentation.
McIlwain says she now plans to keep the Davidson-area property locked down while any future legal proceedings, if they occur, run their course.
