Good Samaritans give scammed family reason to be thankful

HOUSTON – A 76-year-old mother and her daughter were going to be homeless after falling for a rental scam. But now they have hope after a KPRC 2 viewer stepped up to help.

Our Thanksgiving story begins with a knock at a door in a Humble neighborhood. Mother Kathy Martinez swings it open.

“Come on in,” she said to two strangers at her door, but then a hand is put forth.

“I’m Cage. This is my wife Nicole. I saw your story last night and I couldn’t sleep,” said Herbert Cage, who reached out to KPRC 2 early Thanksgiving morning, after watching Martinez’s story hours earlier.

Kristi Martinez and her mother paid their last dime to move into a home, which police later told them they were trespassing in. They had been scammed.

Banks were closed but Cage pulled out whatever he could from an ATM to extend a helping hand to Kristi Martinez and her mother.

“So what I wanted to do was give you back what you lost, I have $1,500 here,” said Cage.

“It’s a blessing it really is,” said Kristi Martinez.

She wipes away tears of joy, but there’s still a long way to go. Kristi and her mother have to move out by Friday. However, with cash in hand, they have options.

“Hopefully, we get a new place. Hopefully a place we can actually call home,” said Kristi Martinez. “We would have been on the streets tomorrow if they never stepped in.”

Now, Kristi and her mother can celebrate Thanksgiving properly, without having to wonder if they’ll be homeless tomorrow.

“Feels great, that’s what the human race should do, instead of being divided, we should be united,” said Cage.

Cage proved that giving back isn’t just for Thanksgiving… it should be done every day.


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