Fake live-in nanny won't leave Upland family home

UPLAND, Calif. (KABC) -- They were the all-American family looking for help with their three young children.

Upland couple Marcella and Ralph Bracamonte posted an ad on Craigslist seeking a nanny in exchange for room and board. Instead, they got Diane Stretton, who at first pretended to be their nanny, but is now squatting in their home.

The couple said they called Stretton's references and checked her background.

"We hired this person that was somebody we thought we could truly trust and allowed our kids to be with her," Ralph Bracamonte said.

After a couple of weeks, Stretton started staying in her room.

"She wasn't performing what we had asked her to do, and we ended up trying to give her chance after chance," Ralph Bracamonte said.

Finally, Marcella Bracamonte wrote her a "Last Chance Letter," spelling out her expectations.

Instead of agreeing to the conditions or moving out, Stretton countered with her own agreement, issuing her own demands and threatening to sue the Bracamontes for Americans with Disabilities Act violations, elderly abuse and wrongful termination.

The Bracamontes say they called the police, but need a court order to remove Stratten from their home.

They filed an unlawful detainer, but were turned down by a judge and fear they will lose hundreds of thousands of dollars or even their house, if they lock her out or even go in her room!

Stretton is involved in at least two dozen other lawsuits, the Bracamontes said.

"Even if you had a written agreement and it said you need to be out by this day, and they refuse to leave, you still have to go through the eviction process. So no matter who you let in your home, this could happen," Marcella Bracamonte said.

The kids now sleep across the hall from their former nanny with the door locked. Every night, the Bracamontes say, Stratten comes home and sleeps in their house.

"You're living with the enemy," Marcella Bracamonte said.