Renters in the Lake Ridge development of Cedar Hill, Texas, which is an affluent suburb community just south of Dallas, were living in million-dollar homes for less than $1,000 per month, according to a recent article in the Dallas Morning News.

It sounds too good to be true, right?

Well, it was — wily con artists were found to be behind the scam, renting out foreclosed mini mansions that they didn’t even own to unsuspecting tenants at rock bottom prices. The scammers would then collect the monthly rent payments until the local authorities or homeowners (banks) discovered the illegal activity.

That didn’t stop them from moving on, however, going from house-to-house and tenant-to-tenant in what authorities are describing as an “ingenious” plan to bilk the system.

Here’s a snip from local law enforcement officials:

“It’s so novel. It’s ingenious, really…. You have to have a somewhat sophisticated person to pull this off. There are holes in the system that allows it to be easy.”

Fortunately, it appears that the problem is being addressed now that scam has been uncovered.

In fact, the article indicates that a local pastor is currently being charged with “one count of securing execution of a document by deception in connection with renting a foreclosed home in Cedar Hill.”

Amen.