Wow. That sounds pretty shady. I’m guessing it was just this shy of barely being legal. Sometimes properties and friendships/family don’t mix. I’ve learned the hard way too. I had a family member con relatives out of thousands over the years, claiming they were too sick to work (fake) and needed help supplementing their income. This relative took me for six figures over a 20 year period and ended up vandalizing a piece of property I let them live in rent-free (you know, because they were struggling financially). This wasn’t the case, of course. Ultimately, the relative was faking their illness in hopes of getting sympathetic support from the people around them. While I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit it — because I like to think I’m smarter than that — when emotions and social expectations are considered, people can be open to being taken advantage of. You are compelled to help, and assume relatives and friends won’t go out of their way to rip you off. But according to my lawyers, family and friends are the worse than strangers when it comes to a con job. I eventually wised up, called out this person, and cut ties. Unfortunately, other relatives and friends refuse to see the con and are still being financially abused.