Landlord agrees to repay student security deposits in settlement with attorney general's office

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Attorney General Josh Stein announced a settlement with a Raleigh landlord who was the subject of an ABC11 Troubleshooter investigation.

ABC11 first told you about the landlord, Evagelia "Lisa" Eustathiou, in November. She has several rental homes near NC State and several former tenants reached out to the Troubleshooter claiming Eustathiou rents homes that were not in good condition and then they said she kept their money, including thousands in security deposits once their leases ended.

On Tuesday' Stein announced that his office had secured a $25,040 consent judgment with Eustathiou and her company, Apollon LLC, over violations of state consumer protection and debt laws. She also rented primarily to college students in the Greensboro area

Eustathiou and Apollon LLC will repay $25,040 in security deposits and establish a 90-day lookback period to review requests for refunds from people who did not file complaints with the attorney general's office but may be entitled to a refund.

"I'm pleased that we were able to win back money for these students and their families," Stein said. "This is what it means to fight for North Carolina's consumers -- to win back money they've unfairly lost and ensure that these practices don't harm others."

During the Troubleshooter investigation, ABC11 spoke with several of Eustathiou's former tenants who said they left their rental in a clean condition and expected to get security deposits back, but instead, the landlord sent them a bill for thousands of charges, some charged as much as $23,000.

After the investigations, Eustathiou did remove some of the charges and said she did not have any intentions of going after any money beyond that of the security deposits and if she did make a mistake and incorrectly charged for something, she would quickly make an adjustment.

In December, Eustathiou surrendered her real estate broker's license as part of an investigation by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission.

The consent judgment also says that moving forward, the landlord needs to refrain from charging against the security deposits for any normal wear and tear, is not allowed to charge unlawful interest or late fees, must maintain security deposits in a trust account, and follow other landlord-tenant laws.

Eustathiou and her company denied all allegations that they violated state laws but agreed to enter the consent judgment with the AG's office because they "wish to resolve this controversy without further proceedings."

if you rented a property from Eustathiou, and believe you are entitled to a refund, you can complete this online form Note that you will be required to submit documentation supporting your request for a refund.