Couple return home to $1,000,000 land they bought to find someone’s built a house on it
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: YouTube/CBS Boston
A couple returned to land they had purchased in 1991 to find that someone had built a house on it without their knowledge or consent.
Omar and Halla Jaraki had purchased the land worth $1 million in Concord back in 1991.
The couple had intended to build a house on the land where they would retire, but ran into a problem when they returned to the land.
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In August they had called at the town to pick up their annual tax bill, only to be informed that the property had been sold for around half of what it was worth.
It was at this point that the terrified couple realised that they had been targeted by a scam.
This had seen someone impersonate them and put the land up 'for sale' so that an unsuspecting buyer would purchase the land from them.
Speaking to CBS, cardiologist Omar said: "They stole our dream. They stole our property. They took a mortgage on it. They're building a house on it."
The couple would go on to file a fraud lawsuit in which they claim that a scammer had used a fake driver's licence, passport, and a forged email address to carry out the scam.
This involved duping a real estate agent and two attorneys into putting the property up 'for sale'.
The plot was allegedly advertised as 'a great opportunity to build your dream home in the ultra-exclusive, sought after and prestigious Mattison Farm neighborhood. One of the only remaining lots and nestled on a 1.84 acre parcel. Close proximity to Concord & Nashawtuc Country Club'.
Unfortunately, a buyer did take up the offer on the plot, which was advertised well below its $1 million value at $699,900.
The unwitting buyer then built a house on the land.
Richard Vetstein, an attorney representing the couple, said: "The minute I saw this deed, I knew it was a forgery. You just can tell by looking at it. Just the handwriting, it looks off. There were so many other red flags.
"A quick half a million for a counterfeit driver's license and passport and sending a couple of emails. That's a day's work."
One red flag was that the photos on the fake passport and driving licence were the same.
Vetstein said: "That's not possible because license photos are taken at the Department of Motor Vehicles. The woman in the fake ID's looks nothing like Halla Jaraki.
"This is a disaster. It's not only for us but for other people like it's going to happen to them."
He added: "They're definitely going to get their property back. I think the only question is, what do we do about the house?"