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A New York doctor who inherited property his family has owned for 70 years in Connecticut was shocked to visit what he believed would be a vacant lot only to find a home under construction.
Long Island resident Daniel Kenigsberg alleged in a court filing in July that forged documents resulted in the transfer of his long-time property to a company that then began building a house on his half-acre of land in Fairfield.
Kenigsberg said in a U.S. District court complaint that the lot was stolen via a fake deed transfer, and he asked the judge to declare him the rightful owner.
“Dr. Kenigsberg never authorized the sale of his Property to anyone,” Kenigsberg said in the complaint.
Kenigsberg told the Washington Post that he discovered the newly built house on his property by surprise during a conversation with a friend.
“I was living my life normally until May 31,” Kenigsberg told the outlet, “and all of a sudden, this happened.”
The four-bed, five-bath, 4,000-square-foot house has been listed on Coldwell Banker since March and is marked as contingent.
Bob Richter, a sales associate with Coldwell Banker, didn’t respond to a request for comment. Richter was also listed as the selling agent for the land.
Kenigsberg alleged that attorney Anthony Monelli acted as a power of attorney under “obviously” faulty documents purportedly signed by a Daniel Kenigsberg who lives in South Africa, according to the complaint.
“The Power of Attorney…is a forgery,” Kenigsberg’s complaint said. “Monelli knew or should have known that the Power of Attorney was a forgery.”
The complaint went on to allege that Monelli “knowingly” and “intentionally” used the forged documents to “fraudulently sell the Property” for $350,000.
Monelli didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about the lawsuit, which was first reported by CTInsider.
A limited liability company called 51 Sky Top Partners bought the land and built the home, the group acknowledged, adding that it planned to deliver Kenigsberg a quitclaim deed this week that conveys all of the legal rights to the asset while “releasing any interest it has in the property,” the statement added.
CTInsider spoke with neighbors who said they were surprised when it appeared Kenigsberg sold the land his family had owned since the early 1950s.
“We’re kind of surprised,” a neighbor, Erica McCarthy, told CTInsider. “He has owned the lot for so long, and it’s never been built on, so I think everybody in the neighborhood at least seemed a little bit shocked that he sold it and it was being built on.”
Construction has since been paused on the unfinished home, and Kenigsberg asked the court for an injunction that would prevent builders from continuing work.
Kenigsberg said he was referring a copy of the lawsuit to the Connecticut attorney general. State judicial branch records show Monelli is a registered attorney in the state with no record of disciplinary action.
The Washington Post reported that the Fairfield Police Department began an investigation in June.
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