A man, who bought a plot of land over two decades ago, is suing a company after he found out a house was being built on it without his consent.
In 1991, Dr. Daniel Kenigsberg of Connecticut purchased the half-acre parcel at 51 Sky Top Terrace.
It was near to the location of the house he grew up in, which his father had purchased for $5,000 ($3,911) in 1953, just outside of New Haven.
However, when he learned from a close friend that construction had started on the property, what had initially seemed to be a fairly innocent acquisition turned into a complete nightmare.
He described the exchange to CT Insider, saying: “I said, ‘I own that and I never sold it’. I was shocked.”
Dr. Kenigsberg was intrigued by what was happening and decided to stop over and have a look on his way to Long Island. And when he got there, he saw that a huge $1.4 million (just over £1m) home was being built on his land.
Official documents show that in October 2022, 51 Sky Top Partners LLC purchased the site for $350,000 (£270,000). However, Dr. Kenigsberg claims he was unaware of and had no involvement with the fraudulent sale.
A “Daniel Kenigsberg” from Johannesburg, South Africa, is accused in the complaint of forging a power of attorney in order to steal real estate. Anthony Monelli of Trumbull, Connecticut is said to have given the power of attorney.
Since then, 51 Sky Top Partners’ Gina Leto and Greg Bugaj have admitted that they too were the victims of a fraud.
So in response to the shocking move, he is now suing the company in question, with nine different charges, including trespass, statutory theft, and unfair business practises.
Dr. Kenigsberg is requesting damages in the amount of $2 million and is suing to have the land deal declared null and invalid.
The business in issue must also remove “any structures and/or materials from the Property and restore the Property to the condition that it was in prior to Defendants’ trespass upon it,” according to his demands.
Dr Kenigsberg later opened up about the case, saying: “I’m angry that so many people were so negligent that this could have happened.
“It’s more than obnoxious — it’s offensive and wrong.”
51 Sky Top Partners said in a statement: “We learned to our shock and dismay that Kenigsberg, had not, in fact, sold the property to us.
“Rather, a third-party had impersonated Kenigsberg and — through the carelessness and neglect of the various real estate professionals involved in the transaction — managed to list, market, and sell the property without anyone ever catching on.”
