A couple famous for their extravagant Christmas lights display in Florida have been revealed as squatters who fraudulently took over a luxury home. Mark and Kathy Hyatt occupied the property in Plantation Acres for 13 years after faking a deed, according to an investigation by the Broward County Property Appraiser's Office.
The home was originally owned by former Miami Dolphins player Brett Perriman, who defaulted on his mortgage in 2004. A private investor paid part of the debt and secured the property, but a paperwork error allowed the Hyatts to exploit the situation. Kathy Hyatt told investigators that her husband, Mark, who died in 2020 aged 56, created a false deed using 'cut and paste' and changed the locks.
Kathy admitted in a deposition that the couple broke into the home, threw out its contents, and never paid any money to occupy it. 'We were squatters,' she said. Mark had previously contacted the police to accuse the investor of squatting, but the couple themselves were the ones unlawfully occupying the property.
The investigation began after Kathy contacted the property appraiser's office with information about the fraudulent deed. The Hyatts divorced in 2017, and the house is now set to be returned to its rightful owner. The couple's elaborate Christmas displays had drawn widespread praise over the years, but their actions have now been exposed as part of a long-term fraud.
