Joburg man accused of fraudulently selling US doctor’s property

A South African man has been accused of being involved in a property scam in the USA in which he allegedly used a fake passport to impersonate the owner and fraudulently sell the American doctor’s land.

The doctor from Connecticut, who had been living elsewhere, was horrified to discover that the South African had sold his land, and that all the trees had been knocked down to build a $1.4-million four-bedroom mansion on the plot.

Dr Daniel Kenigsberg had inherited the land from his parents and planned to keep it untouched. It had been in the family for over 70 years.

After being away for five years, Dr Kenigsberg (70) – who was alerted to the construction by a friend – drove past the address and was shocked to see a house under construction.

He has since discovered that the alleged SA scammer had impersonated him, used a fake passport (with the wrong birthdate, photo and address), hired a lawyer named Anthony Monelli and made the sale to real estate developers 51 Sky Top Partners. The fraudulent sale, for $350,000, took place in October 2022, according to the New York Post.

The Washington Post says a lawsuit has been lodged demanding the deed transfer be overturned, and the structure dismantled. In the meantime work on the house has been halted.

Dr Kenigsberg’s signature was apparently forged in Joburg. The lawsuit says: “Dr Kenigsberg has never lived in Johannesburg, South Africa and was not traveling there in 2022.”

The defendants are Monelli and 51 Sky, although they’re not accused of being behind the scheme but of the fact they knew, or should have known, that the transfer was a forgery.

The doctor’s lawyer told CT Insider: “It looks like somebody from South Africa reached out to maybe the broker and maybe Attorney Monelli.” He also said: “Apparently there are scammers around the country doing this kind of thing.”

Local police in Fairfield are also investigating the matter.