The developers of the partially finished, $1.5 million home on Sky Top Terrace in Fairfield, Connecticut, say they are the victims of real estate fraud.
Gina Leto and Greg Bugaj issued a statement last week saying they believed the half-acre lot on which they are building the home was legally sold to them for $350,000, columnist Dan Haar of CTInsider wrote.
Leto and Bugaj’s partnership — 51 Sky Top Partners — is a defendant in a lawsuit by the rightful owner, Daniel Kenigsberg, a Long Island doctor who returned to his childhood street on May 31, only to find a $1.5 million house being built on his family’s land.
The duo said they purchased a half-acre lot, intending to develop it, only to discover that the property they believed they legitimately bought had been sold to them by an impersonator. A lawyer allegedly involved in executing the scam has also been named a defendant in the federal suit.
Leto and Bugaj said they were shocked at learning the truth about the fraudulent sale, adding they are cooperating with local police and the FBI in the criminal investigation.
“[A] hird-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,” they said in the statement, according to Haar.
They said they also attempted to rectify the situation by offering Kenigsberg $500,000 for the land, which he rejected. Additionally, they have filed a lawsuit against the real estate professionals involved in the transaction to hold them accountable.
The lawsuit filed by Kenigsberg seeks up to $2 million in damages and demands the restoration of the property to its original state. Leto and Bugaj admit they had no knowledge of the scam and would not have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in construction had they known the truth.
Leto and Bugaj insist that they acted in good faith and said they are concerned about the potential damage to their reputations and financial losses that may never be fully recovered.
While Leto and Bugaj plan to correct the property records to reflect Kenigsberg’s rightful ownership, they intend to challenge certain charges against them, denying any intentional harm caused to Kenigsberg.
— Ted Glanzer