A Zimbabwean man previously jailed in the United States for tax fraud has been arrested in Harare, accused of fraudulently seizing ownership of a luxury property worth US$580,000.
Elijah Meskano, 52, was intercepted at Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport on September 24 while allegedly attempting to flee the country. He appeared before Harare magistrate Marewanazvo Gofa on Friday and was released on US$200 bail pending trial.
According to prosecutors, the complainant, Maria Mafunga, 41, of Gletwyn and co-director of Deluxe International School in Ruwa, legally purchased part of stand 829 in Damofalls in February 2017. The property, measuring 2,916 square metres, was acquired from Brighton Ushendibaba, who had originally bought it from land developer Divine Homes.
Mafunga then spent several years constructing a triple-storey home on the land, covering all permit and development costs under the developer’s account.
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Prosecutors allege that Meskano, who owns the remaining three subdivisions of the original 9,000-square-metre property, unlawfully changed the ownership records in August 2023. He allegedly had the registration altered from Ross Farm, the original titleholder, to himself and his wife, Rudo, without Mafunga’s consent.
The alleged fraud only came to light in September when Mafunga received municipal bills showing the Meskanos listed as the property’s registered owners. She promptly reported the matter to the police, triggering Meskano’s arrest.
This is not Meskano’s first brush with the law. In 2013, while living in Texas, he pleaded guilty in a Dallas federal court to conspiracy to steal public funds in a tax refund fraud case.
Court records reveal that between 2011 and 2012, Meskano and his roommate, Cephas Msipa, filed 192 fake tax returns using stolen identities and falsified income data. The fraudulent refunds were funneled into bank accounts they had opened under false names.
Meskano was sentenced to 45 months in federal prison and ordered to repay approximately US$52,000. Msipa was ordered to pay more than US$118,000. At the time, U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña described the scheme as “a deliberate theft of taxpayer money.”
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