BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 2, 2020– Former Minister of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Gaspar Vega, has landed himself and the United Democratic Party in another scandalous case of land fraud four years after resigning from Cabinet.
On Friday, October 30, attorney Marcel Cardona held a press conference at which he represented and voiced the frustration of a 72-year-old American, Robert Condreay.
Condreay is currently in a land dispute with two other Americans, Jay Dean and Cynthia Felstow, over an acre of beachfront property in Sarteneja, Corozal.
Reports indicate that the property was sold in 1997 to a Corozal resident by the name of Marcelo Cruz, under the authority of the then UDP Minister of Natural resources, Eduardo “Dito” Juan.
Cruz later sold the parcel to Mr. Condreay in July of 1998, and Condreay alleges that he has since been investing in it for future development and has even installed a caretaker to look after it in his absence.
Problems have arisen for Condreay, however, because in October of 2013, Gaspar Vega, in his capacity as Minister of Lands, leased the same parcel of land to Raul Fabian Rosado, despite it being documented as private property.
The following year, Vega exacerbated this error by formally selling the land to Rosado while it was still under the ownership of Mr. Condreay.
Subsequently, Rosado sold the property to Jay Dean and Cynthia Felstow in June of this year, resulting in the three parties having ownership over the land.
According to Condreay, he was unaware of all these developments until recently when his caretaker informed him that contractors had trespassed on his property and had begun to erect a building.
Condreay quickly sought the services of his attorney, who had to carry out an investigation to gain an understanding of what had transpired thus far.
During the press conference, Cardona mentioned that the plot of land was sold by Vega for a mere BZ$3,500, which Cardona classified as a “paltry sum for such a prime piece of real estate.”
However, he shared the transfer document between Rosado, and Dean and Felstow, which states that the land had been purchased by the latter for a total of US$100,000.
What Cardona is seeking on behalf of his client is restoration of Condreay’s ownership of the property and an investigation into the matter.
Cardona exclaimed, “This situation is absolutely outrageous, absolutely outrageous. This cannot be a mistake. How can someone attempt to go and apply for title to a land that is already occupied? It’s already under someone else’s control and possession, and ownership.
“How can someone go to the Lands Department and tell them, ‘I want the title to that parcel of land?’. I wish to make a public call upon all those who have participated in this fraud, that you will be brought to justice. My client is not going to take this sitting down.”
Cardona went on to state, “I make this call to all others in a national call for the following two things: 1. immediate rectification of the land register records by the Registrar of Lands in Belmopan to properly reflect and restore the lawful proprietary rights and interests of my client, Mr. Robert James Condreay, in the… property being Parcel 878, Block 3, Sarteneja registration section of the Corozal District; and 2. an immediate, professional, credible, and impartial criminal investigation into this criminal matter.”