Niamh Shackleton
A man was left understandably disgruntled and very confused to find that a property had mysteriously appeared on his land.
Dr Daniel Kenigsberg purchased a half-acre strip at 51 Sky Top Terrace in Connecticut back in 1991, and the land had remained untouched ever since.
It's thought that Kenigsberg bought the land as it was located nearby to his childhood home.
Apparently he'd been approached on numerous occasions to see if he'd like to sell the land, but he always declined.
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Reportedly had 'no desire to sell the property nor to construct any buildings whatsoever on the property, but rather he had a long-term plan of passing the Property to his heirs in the future in its unimproved condition'.
But fast forward to 2022 and the land was sold without Kenigsberg's permission.
He only learnt of the four-bed home being built after a friend told him that a house was being erected on the land next to his childhood home, Washington Post reported last year.
It was later revealed that someone from Johannesburg impersonated him to sell his 0.45-acre property to a real estate company called 51 Sky Top Partners LLC.
They had purchased the land for $350,000 and by October 2022 started building the property that was later listed at almost $1.5 million.
Kenigsberg went on to sue the firm involved on nine counts including trespass, statutory theft, and unfair trade practices.
The lawsuit was seeking to make the sale of the land void and Kenigsberg was looking for damages in the sum of $2 million.
In response, Sky Top Partners sued Anthony Monelli, the lawyer they had used, and the real-estate company and agent that listed the land in 2022 as the firm had no idea that the land was being sold without the genuine owner's permission.
As per Supercar Blondie, it's believed that the suits have since been settled and the four-bed home at the center of the controversy has been sold.
In light of the issues he's faced, Kenigsberg has urged other landowners to keep a close eye on their assets.
"If you live in California and you have land in Vermont, you’d better have somebody keeping an eye on it," he told CT Insider.
Speaking on the settlement, Kenigsberg said he felt 'mixed emotions' about it.
"I have very profound concerns about the diligence of law enforcement," he shared.
"At least to my knowledge the perpetrator has not been found, has not been stopped and therefore is most likely preying on other people."