Couple Charged with Defrauding Landlords Out of Tens of Thousands in Rent Money
DAPHNE, Ala. (WALA) – Baldwin County deputies have arrested a couple they said defrauded homeowners out of tens of thousands of dollars in rent by refusing to pay. Investigators say they would eventually move but only after multiple eviction orders and would then do it all over again at their next residence.
Investigators said when the couple would see a negative report to the credit bureaus from previous landlords, they would challenge it, saying it was a mistake and not them. The credit bureaus would remove it and the next property owner would be none the wiser.
Baldwin County Sheriff’s investigators said Dwayne and Erica Dailey developed quite the scheme over the last four years. Since 2021, deputies said the couple was able to live for free by not paying rent and dragging out the eviction process, falsifying documents and lying to property owners. It was thanks to a deputy who works eviction cases that a criminal investigation began. He said they had dealt with the Daileys several times before and realized it had become a pattern.
“They would rent the place. They would not pay rent. They would come up with reasons why they couldn’t…family emergencies, tragedies, things like that and they would string it along a few months, never pay rent and then, they were just familiar that it takes a few months to get someone evicted and our deputies would show up, evict them and they’d move somewhere else,” explained Capt. Daniel Steelman with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.
Eviction cases ae typically civil matters but with the Dailey’s, investigators said the extent of fraud crossed the line, making it criminal. According to deputies, the Daileys both held jobs and could have paid rent. One neighbor who lives next door to the home deputies said they rented recently on Meadow Wood Drive in Daphne said the news comes as a shock.
“I never would have guessed,” Alex Hendricks said. “I know that they were only here for a couple months, if that. They were here just very shortly. I know the landlord. I think they try to rent long-term so it’s surprising it only lasted a couple months.”
Deputies said Dwayne and Erica Daily would often leave the properties dirty and damaged. There are some steps investigators said property owners can take to avoid putting themselves in the position so many along the eastern shore did with the Daileys.
“If they’re running a credit report and they see a previous address, try to reach out to that,” said Steelman. “I don’t know that people’s contact information is listed on those addresses, but it would probably take them going to the location, speaking to a possible new tenant if they’re there to find out who the landlord is.”
Investigators said they estimate the Daileys defrauded property owners out of somewhere between $50,000 and $80,000 over the last four years. Both have been charged with Theft by Fraudulent Renting or Leasing…a Class-C felony. Erica was released Tuesday, July 1, 2025 on a $4,000 bond. Dwayne turned himself in Wednesday afternoon and did not yet have a bond assigned.
Source: Fox10News
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