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The state Attorney General's office filed a petition Tuesday requesting intervention after more tenants and children were kicked out of their homes at the Moscow and Monica apartments on the 1400 block of Germantown Avenue, the news outlet reports.
Gagandeep Lakhmna, the owner of the complex, was fined $22,500, plus $500 in state attorney fees, the outlet reports.
Judge Joshua Roberts ordered an additional fine of $1,000 per day for each unit whose resident does not receive access, the outlet says.
More than 25 tenants of the apartment complex say they were scammed out of their rent money after making oral leases with the former property manager, Frank Sanders, The Philadelphia Inquirer says.
Oral leases are legal leases for up to three years in the state of Pennsylvania, the news outlet says.
Lakhmna filed a lawsuit in March to have all the tenants removed, after believing they conspired with Sanders. The new building manager began locking out tenants and shutting off their power and utilities, the outlet reports.
Judge Roberts ordered on March 15 that all residents receive full access to their units until otherwise determined by the court, the outlet says.
Within an hour of a second hearing on Monday, more tenants lost access to their apartments. All of the building's entrances, including the residents’ apartments, required an electronic key fob for entry, the news outlet reports.
"Over this period of time, some of the tenants sought refuge on peoples' couches, and others were forced to live in their cars," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said at a press conference Thursday.
"Some couldn't even get access to their kids' medications."
While some residents had regained access to their units by Wednesday afternoon and at least five had not, Vik Patel, staff attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia told The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Residents were unable to get in contact with Lakhmna to understand why they were forcibly removed from their units but his Facebook stories posted Monday night showed him sailing on a yacht in what is believed to be the Caribbean, the news outlet reports.
"Any landlord who tries to evict against the law is going to be held accountable," Philadelphia City Councilwoman Helen Gym said.
"We will keep fighting until all of these wrongs are righted," Shapiro said.
"We're here to stand alongside you."
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