Couple’s Cash Vanishes in Suspicious Land Deal as Deaths and Deceit Plague the Industry!
In a stunning turn of events, Stephen and Barbara Woycke are suing a Belizean real estate agent after discovering that $60,000 they paid in stamp duty to secure their property title has mysteriously vanished. The missing money is just one example of what appears to be a much larger, sinister scheme involving the late land dealer Ricardo Borja, whose dealings have left numerous investors in turmoil.
The Woyckes, who transferred nearly a million Belize dollars to Boris Mannsfeld & Associates in 2022, intended $54,000 of that sum to cover stamp duties for their new property. However, more than a year later, they still haven’t received their land title. The couple was shocked to learn that their funds, managed by JC Consulting—a company linked to Ricardo Borja—never reached the Lands Department.
A Boris Mannsfeld & Associates employee admitted in an email: “The closing company that you engaged for the title search and lodging the transfer of title was JC Consulting from Belize City. After inquiring about the status of your title at the Ministry of Natural Resources, Lands Department in Belmopan, BMA was informed that your stamp duty was not paid…”
This alarming case is just one example of a much wider issue. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources, Cordel Hyde, recently revealed that his department had reviewed over 300 transaction instruments involving Ricardo Borja and his consulting firm, JC Consulting. Shockingly, nearly 80% of those transactions were incomplete, suggesting a widespread scheme rather than an isolated incident.
Hyde remarked, “If 80% of 300 transactions were not completed, that seems to be an elaborate scheme, not an accident.”
The case takes an even darker turn with the deaths of Ricardo Borja and his associate, Darren Taylor. Both men, prominent figures in the real estate market, were murdered eight months apart in targeted attacks where nothing was stolen. Authorities believe these killings may be linked to botched land deals, adding a grim layer to the unfolding scandal.
“It’s scary,” said Hyde. “It’s scary when you consider that people have died possibly linked to these things. You’re dealing with a different level of opportunism, criminality, and wickedness altogether.”
Many investors like the Woyckes are now left in financial limbo, having paid substantial sums upfront only to find their money never reached the Lands Department. “Lots of these people are out of money by hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Hyde explained. “They come to the Lands Department thinking they’ve paid all the necessary fees, only to discover they need to start the process all over again. All that money they forked out never reached.”
He further added, “They’re out of pocket—their retirement money, everything—and they can’t pay the stamp duty, so they can’t get that land transferred in their name.”
The Woyckes are now taking legal action against Boris Mannsfeld & Associates, claiming they never hired JC Consulting and are demanding the return of their lost stamp duties plus damages.
As the investigation deepens, the question remains: how many more investors are caught in this web of deceit? And who might be next to face the consequences of Belize’s murky real estate dealings?
Hindsight is 20/20 – We would like to implore everybody that’s interested in acquiring a slice of Belize to make sure to go through a reputable Agent. Make sure that said agent is a member of BNAR (Belize National Associates of Realtors) and make sure to check the membership page frequently. It pains us to see individuals getting taken for hundreds to millions of dollars without ever being able to recover those funds. Unfortunately there is also very little repercussion to the perpetrators here in Belize as the legal system in those types of frauds has not caught up yet. Going with a bigger US franchise does award you with some additional protection as you’ll be able to take recourse with corporate if anything should go wrong e.g. RE/MAX.