HARARE
–
A
Zimbabwean
man
once
jailed
for
tax
fraud
in
the
United
States
was
arrested
at
the
Robert
Gabriel
Mugabe
International
Airport
on
September
24
accused
of
fraudulently
transferring
ownership
of
a
prime
property
to
his
name.
On
Friday,
Elijah
Meskano,
52,
appeared
before
Harare
magistrate
Marewanazvo
Gofa
on
fraud
charges
and
was
granted
US$200
bail.
He
was
arrested
while
allegedly
attempting
to
flee
the
country,
prosecutors
said.
Maria
Mafunga,
41,
of
Gletwyn,
and
a
co-director
of
Deluxe
International
School
in
Ruwa
accuses
Meskano
of
illegally
transferring
ownership
of
her
Damofalls
stand
and
a
triple-storey
mansion
she
built
over
several
years.
The
National
Prosecuting
Authority
says
Mafunga
legally
purchased
part
of
stand
829,
measuring
2,916
square
metres,
in
February
2017
from
Brighton
Ushendibaba,
who
had
originally
acquired
the
land
from
Divine
Homes
land
developers.
“Over
time,
she
constructed
a
luxury
home
valued
at
US$580,000,
paying
all
permits
and
costs
under
the
developer’s
account,”
the
NPA
said.
That
same
year,
Meskano
purchased
the
remaining
three
subdivisions
of
the
original
property,
measuring
6,084
square
metres.
Prosecutors
allege
that
between
2017
and
2022,
Mafunga
peacefully
developed
her
portion
without
dispute.
But
in
August
this
year,
Meskano
is
said
to
have
fraudulently
altered
ownership
records,
changing
registration
from
Ross
Farm,
the
original
holder
of
the
land,
to
himself
and
his
wife,
Rudo,
without
Mafunga’s
knowledge
or
consent.
The
fraud
only
came
to
light
in
September
when
Mafunga
received
Harare
City
Council
bills
reflecting
Elijah
and
Rudo
Meskano
as
the
registered
owners
of
the
property.
Alarmed,
she
reported
the
matter
to
police.
Authorities
then
moved
quickly
after
receiving
information
that
Meskano
was
preparing
to
leave
Zimbabwe.
He
was
intercepted
at
the
airport
and
taken
into
custody.
This
is
not
the
first
time
Meskano
has
faced
fraud
charges.
In
2013,
while
living
in
Texas,
he
pleaded
guilty
in
a
Dallas
federal
court
to
conspiracy
to
steal
public
funds
in
connection
with
a
large-scale
tax
refund
fraud
scheme.
Court
records
from
the
U.S.
show
that
Meskano
and
his
roommate,
Cephas
Msipa,
electronically
filed
192
fraudulent
tax
returns
between
2011
and
2012,
using
stolen
identities
and
false
income
data.
They
directed
the
Internal
Revenue
Service
(IRS)
to
deposit
refunds
into
multiple
bank
accounts
they
had
opened
under
false
names.
Meskano
was
sentenced
to
45
months
in
federal
prison
and
ordered
to
repay
about
US$52,000,
while
his
co-conspirator
was
ordered
to
pay
more
than
US$118,000.
The
U.S.
Attorney
at
the
time,
Sarah
R.
Saldaña,
described
the
scam
as
“a
deliberate
theft
of
taxpayer
money.”