Woman faces eviction from home of 44 years

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, Brooklyn (WABC) -- An 82-year-old woman is facing eviction from the house in Brooklyn she's lived in for 44 years.

She says she's the victim of a predatory lender and none of this is her doing.

"They're going to have to take me out bodily and tear down the house to get me," Mary Lee Ward said.

Let there be no doubt. Mary Lee Ward is not leaving her home of 44 years.

She faces eviction this Friday following a 16-year legal battle that started when she signed with a predatory sub-prime mortgage lender.

"I've done all the research, nobody would do anything for me but take my money," Ward said.

In the last decade-and-a-half, the 82-year-old has collected a houseful of documents, court orders and eviction notices.

Of the $10,000 she tried to get back in 1996, she received only $1,400.

"Have I been taken advantage of? Nobody should've been treated like this," Ward said.

Shaheem Choudhury told Eyewitness News he is a victim as well.

He didn't want to talk on-camera, but he told Eyewitness News he bought the property back in 2008 for $340,000, unaware of the elder lady's mortgage run-around.

He just wants to get into the home, which Ms. Ward has locked up like a fortress.

"Are you leaving this house?" Eyewitness News asked Ward.

"Never. Never," Ward said.

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new york city, bedford-stuyvesant, brooklyn, new york news, joe torres

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