Man returned home to land he bought to find someone had built a $1.5 million house on it
Britt Jones
Featured Image Credit: NBC New York
A man was baffled after he returned to a piece of land he owned to discover a four-bedroom property sitting on it.
Dr. Daniel Kenigsberg has owned the land at 51 Sky Top Terrace in Connecticut for over 30 years, and while it was empty, that doesn't mean he didn't have plans for it.
For three decades, all was seemingly well with his land, until he was alerted by a friend that building work has begun on the half-acre plot.
As you can imagine, Dr. Kenigsberg was left shocked as he claimed to have never sold the plot of land, which means that the mystery structure was erected illegally.
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So, with that news, he decided to pop on over to see for himself what was supposedly being built on his property.
It was a massive house, freshly built and yet to be occupied.
According to official records, the land that the doc had purchased was sold to 51 Sky Top Partners LLC for $350,000 in October 2022, however, this wasn't something Dr. Kenigsberg was aware of.
In fact, he said he had nothing to do with the sale and didn't even know it was happening. The home being built was on market with an asking price of $1,475,000 and reportedly had a buyer under contract.
He ultimately decided to sue the local developer, as well as the Trumbull lawyer and firm they worked for who handled the fraudulent closing.
Dr. Kenigsberg sued them on nine counts including trespass, statutory theft, and unfair trade practices.
The lawsuit, which was filed in July 2023, was seeking to make the sale of the land void and Dr Kenigsberg was looking for damages in the sum of $2 million.
He also demanded that the company in question removed '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'.
"I'm angry that so many people were so negligent that this could have happened," the disgruntled landowner said at the time.
"It's more than obnoxious - it's offensive and wrong."
It was later revealed that the plot of land purchased by the developer was part of a scam, sparking them to also sue the lawyer who closed the deal.
According to court documents, it was the lawyer and firm who were initially contacted by the fraudster. Speaking on the matter, a statement from 51 Sky Top Partners issued read: "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."
But now, there has been an update as of 2024.
Dr. Kenigsberg sued the Trumbull lawyer in the land sale, Anthony Monelli, and the builders.
However, the builders, in turn, sued Monelli, their lawyer; and the real estate company and agent that listed the land for sale in 2022, CT Insider reports.
After a short battle, a settlement was reached in the spring which provided Dr. Kenigsberg an undisclosed sum, Sky Top Partners a title to the land, and they were then able to finish the house and sold the 4-bedroom house.
The house was purchased for $1.45 million in the sale which is under the original price, just one year after Dr. Kenigsberg’s suit.
As for the investigation into the scammer, Fairfield Police turned the case over to the FBI, and it has yet to reach a resolution.