Strange legal dispute US billionaire allegedly stole sand from Malibu beach

Sometimes even the sand on the beach becomes a problem. In the USA, a billionaire has been charged with allegedly transporting sand from the beach in Malibu to his property without authorization.

A dispute about sand on the beach is currently occupying people in Malibu, California. What sounds rather dubious has a serious background.

As theTages Anzeiger newspaper writes, people in the fashionable seaside resort were quite taken aback when an excavator appeared on Broad Beach in June and July and transported sand from other parts of the beach to the property of billionaire Mark Attanasio.

Dredging work on the beach is actually nothing unusual, as a huge sand wall is built up every fall due to the high risk of tsunamis. However, the structure is removed again in the summer so that people can swim undisturbed. This is why the summer campaign attracted so much attention.

Spaniards are alarmedWill there soon be no more beaches in the vacation paradise?

66-year-old Attanasio is an investment entrepreneur who has owned a villa on Broad Beach since 2007. Since 2017, he has also owned the undeveloped neighboring property, where construction work began at the beginning of the year - using sand from the beach.

For one man, this approach doesn't work at all - neighbor James Kohlberg. "A private property owner is misusing the public beach as a personal sandbox," reads a complaint submitted to the SZ. Attanasio had thus violated the California Coastal Act.

Penalty for stealing sand

In other words, Attanasio is accused of having increased the private part of his beach by piling up the sand. This is because the beaches are actually accessible to everyone where the sand is wet.

Attanasio now has to pay 30,000 dollars (approx. 26,000 francs) for stealing the sand. In addition, he is to have the sand poured back and pay a further 15,000 dollars (approx. 13,000 francs) fine for each day of delay.

Accused instead of rescuer

However, the accused sees himself more as a savior of the beach because, as the Tages Anzeiger writes, the mostly wealthy and famous residents, including actors Pierce Brosnan and Dustin Hoffman, had pledged to invest a total of 31 million dollars over ten years to maintain the beach.

This includes Attanasio, for whom there is unfortunately a problem - the sand required for this is being brought in by truck from 70 kilometers away. And not with an excavator from the beach around the corner.