I would agree, except that he rented it out. He should get compensated for the part of cleaning the place up, but the people he rented to got scammed - he lied

I would agree, except that he rented it out. He should get compensated for the part of cleaning the place up, but the people he rented to got scammed - he lied to them, took their money and let them carry the risk of getting thrown out if the real owner turned up.