A man returned home to find a new $1.5 million house on land he acquired decades ago. Now he's suing for $2 million.

• Daniel Kenigsberg said a Connecticut lot he acquired in 1991 was sold without his consent in 2022.
• He recently visited the town to find a home being constructed on the property.
• He is suing the company that purchased the land, who said in a statement they were scammed, too.

August 4, 2023: This story was updated with new information about the development company 51 Sky Bridge Partners, LLC. Since this story was first published on August 3, 2023, Insider has also attempted to contact parties involved in the lawsuit.

A Long Island man is suing a housing-development company after a home was built on a lot he says was sold without his knowledge or consent. The development company said they were scammed, too.

Dr. Daniel Kenigsberg had owned the nearly half-acre parcel of land at 51 Sky Top Terrace next to his childhood home in Fairfield, Connecticut, just 25 miles outside New Haven, since 1991. His father purchased the property in 1953 for $5,000.

A friend alerted him that a home was being built on the land, and while in town from Long Island, he stopped by the property to see whether it was true, CTInsider reported.

Fairfield County property records show the property was sold to 51 Sky Top Partners LLC for $350,000 in October of last year. Kenigsberg says he had nothing to do with the sale and is now suing the company on nine counts including trespass, statutory theft, and unfair trade practices, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in July, seeks to void the 2022 sale and is asking for damages and compensation of up to $2 million, CTInsider reported.

It also orders the defendants to "remove any structures and/or materials from the Property and restore the Property to the condition that it was in prior to Defendants' trespass upon it."

That would include removing the four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house that's being built on the property by a local construction firm affiliated with 51 Sky Top Partners, LLC, CTInsider said. The home, which was priced at $1.475 million, has a contingent offer, according to its listing on Coldwell Banker. It was listed in March.

"I'm angry that so many people were so negligent that this could have happened," Kenigsberg told CTInsider. "It's more than obnoxious — it's offensive and wrong."

The lawsuit details a claim that a Daniel Kenigsberg of Johannesburg signed "an obviously forged power-of-attorney to steal real property," CTInsider said.

The power of attorney — in this case, the right to sign documents on Kenigsberg's behalf — was granted to a lawyer named Anthony Monelli of Trumbull, Connecticut. Monelli was named as a defendant in the lawsuit alongside Gina Leto and Greg Bugaj of 51 Sky Top Partners, LLC, CTInsider said.

Since the lawsuit by Kenigsberg was filed, Leto and Bugaj have stepped forward saying they were the victims of a scam, CTInsider reported in a follow-up story.

"We learned to our shock and dismay that Kenigsberg, had not, in fact, sold the property to us," the statement read. "Rather, a third-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."

According to CTInsider, Leto and Bugaj offered Kenigsberg $500,000 for the land, but he declined it. The company owners are working with local police and the FBI in a criminal investigation and also filing a lawsuit of their own against "the real estate professionals who facilitated the sale of the property in an attempt to hold them to account."

Insider left messages seeking comment with numbers associated with Leto; Bugaj; Mark N. Clarke, the lawyer listed for 51 Sky Top Partners, LLC; the office of Monelli; and Peter M. Nolin of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey, LLP, the lawyer listed for Kenigsberg.

According to Redfin, David J. White of Keller Williams listed the lot that was sold in 2022. White could not be reached for comment.

Kenigsberg said he was holding onto the land for sentimental reasons and had intended to pass it on to the next generation.

Correction: August 3, 2023 — An earlier version of this story misstated Anthony Monelli's connection to the lawsuit. He is a defendant but is not identified as an owner of 51 Sky Top Partners, LLC.