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PRESS RELEASE
Brazilian Judge sets hearing
to settle 420,000-acre land fraud case in the Amazon
Mato Grosso,
Brazil, August 26, 2009 –Judge Pedro Sakamoto of the Circuit Court
of Specialized Agrarian Law has called for a public hearing on
September 17th in an effort for concerned parties to negotiate a
settlement for one of the state’s oldest and largest unresolved land
fraud cases. The 420,000-acre plus property is located in the
municipality of Sorriso, approximately 150 miles north of the
capital city of Cuiaba in one of the most productive soy regions in
the state. The property is one-third the size of the state of Rhode
Island and has estimated value of between US$500 million to $750
million.
The plaintiff is Edmund Zanini, an American citizen who purchased
the property in the early 1960’s with plans to develop a
100,000-head cattle ranch. In 1977, while Zanini was living with his
family in the state capital of Cuiaba, gunmen shot at his young
children, in the middle of the night through their bedroom door and
left an anonymous letter demanding that Zanini leave the country
immediately or he and his family would be murdered. Zanini took his
family back to the United States and returned to Brazil soon
thereafter to defend his property and continue his land development
plans. He discovered, however, that his property had been stolen
through an elaborate conspiracy of forgery, identity impersonation,
arson, and corruption of public officials.
For the past 31 years, Zanini has been engaged in legal battles to
regain the use of his property. During this time, the land has been
divided into over 300 separate ownerships – even though a
“sequester” was placed on the property in 1983. A “sequester” on the
property places the land in the hands of the government until the
legal issues are settled. During the sequestration, the law states
that the land can not be bought, sold or financed.
In 1991, following two police investigations and a seven-year legal
process, the Cuiaba Criminal Court convicted the front men, Lourival
Abraao Asse, Locival Antonio Vargas, and the Notary Public, Renato
Augusto Platz Guimaraes, of creating a false letter of certification
that Zanini had authorized a Power of Attorney to sell the land. The
recorder’s office housing the alleged Power of Attorney was moved
from a building in the center of the town of Paranavai to its
outskirts and the records were allegedly relocated to a grass hut,
where it promptly and mysteriously burnt down to the ground. This
fraudulent letter of certification of authorization was used to
transfer the property to unauthorized sellers of the property, who
subdivided the property and resold it to third parties.
Based on the 1991 convictions, Zanini has petitioned the courts to
cancel the false deeds - reinstate his deeds, and remove the
receivers of false ownerships from the property. Zanini is also
seeking damages for the loss of use of his property throughout this
31 year period.
Zanini’s attorneys state that, “The matter is equivalent to the
police returning a stolen car back to its original owner once it is
determined that a crime has been committed. It is a travesty of
justice that 18 years after the 1991 convictions, the government is
allowing the people that committed the crime and the people that
received stolen property to continue to profit while the victim is
barred from his property.” They add, “The third parties were
receivers of stolen property regardless of whether or not they were
aware of purchasing stolen goods. The third parties’ logical
recourse would be to seek compensation from the people that
knowingly sold them stolen property and not continue to victimize
the legitimate owner by dragging him through unending legal
processes.” To date, none of the third parties have filed actions
against the original sellers.
Zanini has already settled with three of the parties that received
the false deeds but the 97% of the remaining property still remains
in illegal possession. “In the past, the people on my land have only
offered to settle with me for less than 5% of its current value. No
reasonable person would consider this amount to be an acceptable,
good faith effort to settle with me. We will see at the September
17th hearing whether reasonable proposals will be put on the table
or not. If not, my associates, my family and I are prepared to
continue fighting until we receive just payment for my property or
equitable justice from the Brazilian judicial system,” Zanini said.
The hearing will be held in the courtroom of Circuit Court of
Specialized Agrarian Law, in the Forum Building, within the
political and administrative center of Cuiabá at nine o'clock in the
morning on September 17th.
Contact:
Doug Zanini
Ph: 805 452-3545
E-mail: Doug@Zanini.org
Website: www.usinvestmentinbrazil.com |
