Breathtaking arrogance of vile French squatter after he moved into female poker champ's $1.9m California Airbnb and refused to leave while chain-smoking inside

By BETHAN SEXTON, US ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Published: 14:56, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 14:59, 24 July 2026 A champion poker player has detailed her horror after a French squatter moved into her $1.9 million California Airbnb and refused to leave. Wendy Weissman, 60, faced uphill battle to remove the unwanted tenant from her stunning Hermosa Beach townhouse. The guest, who she identified as Frenchman Evhan Lamarck, had initially booked to stay at the $12,500-a-month property for 48 days before he stopped paying. California's lenient occupancy laws meant that Lamarck had obtained tenancy rights after staying at the home for 30 days, complicating the eviction process. Weissman said she contacted the police but was advised that the issue was a civil matter which would have to be resolved through the courts which could take six months. Her nightmare only came to an end when a huge water leak forced Lamarck to allow Weissman into the property. Once inside she found her gorgeous rental completely trashed, with cigarette butts piled high, damage to her closet from a suspected break-in attempt and trash and dirty linen strewn everywhere. When confronted about by reporters from ABC7, Lamarck arrogantly defended his right to be in the property. Wendy Weissman, 60, was thrown into every homeowner's nightmare after a squatter moved into her Airbnb She accused Frenchman Evhan Lamarck of refusing to leave her $1.9 million Hermosa Beach townhouse When she finally got inside she found the property in disarray, with cigarette butts piled high as well as damage to her closet and dirty linen strewn everywhere When asked if he thought it was 'fair' to remain at the rental without paying, Lamarck scoffed: 'Yeah it's really fair.' ''He just refused to leave,' Weissman said. 'It's squatting. It's definitely squatting.'  Weissman said that problems arose when his rental period came to a close and she did not receive a further payment. She said that Lamarck told her that he had lost his credit card and had to remain in the Airbnb until he got a new one. Facing the prospect of losing out on around $70,000 in rental income plus astronomic court costs, Weissman took to social media in an attempt to name and shame Lamarck, who still refused to move. A break in the situation came when a neighbor reported that water was gushing out of the Airbnb which constituted an emergency and granted Weissman the necessary permission to enter. 'I first sent him the video and when he did not respond I called the police,' she explained. 'The police would not go in and the squatter tried to tell me that he was not aware of the flood he caused.  'I did not give up and eventually told him that I would have a plumber come over and if deemed a hazard I would shut off the water.' Weissman got a break in the case after water damage (pictured) which constituted an emergency meant she was allowed to enter the home The situation appears to have spooked Lamarck, who was seen packing up into a U-Haul van shortly after Weissman resolved the issue.  Surveillance footage showed Lamarck loading up the vehicle with help from a woman before she places a towel over the camera to obscure it. Adding insult to injury, Weissman said that Lamarck was allowed to leave her a negative review following his stay which remained live for several days while she tried desperately to remove it.  Weissman is now warning others of the dangers of renting in the Golden State, which were exacerbated for her due to specific rules in Hermosa Beach that forbid short term lets of less than 30 days. 'Booking it on Airbnb with the lax eviction laws in California - they just get away with it,' Weissman told ABC7. She also hit out at Airbnb for what she described as a lackluster response. Lamarck vacated the property swiftly after the water incident Further horrors awaited Weissman inside including backed-up toilets and damage to her closet from a suspected break-in attempt Weissman rents out the townhouse for $12,500 per month and faced losing up to $70,000 in rental income if she went through the courts 'Airbnb did like the absolute minimum. I mean, they said: "Call your local law enforcement,"' she said.  Airbnb said in a statement to ABC7: 'Issues like this on Airbnb are very rare. In this case, we are in contact with the host and have removed the guest from our platform.'  The Daily Mail has reached out to Weissman and Airbnb for comment.