stellionate means any fraud not distinguished by a more special name; chiefly applied to sales of the same property to two different persons, or selling that for one's own which belongs to another, etc. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 91 out of 100.
Why “stellionate” is a great word
STELLIONATE — [Noun] A fraud not distinguished by a more specific name, chiefly applied to the act of selling the same property to two different persons or selling property that belongs to another. From Latin stellionatus (“cozenage, trickery”), from stellio (“a newt, a crafty, knavish person”). Unlike barratry, which confines its mischief to vexatious litigation or official misconduct, or duplicity, which describes a general habit of deceit, stellionate is the cold, precise crime of property betrayed. It is the phantom house sold from a forged deed, the empty warehouse key handed to a second buyer, the single acre of land promised to two dreamers—a quiet crime that turns a contract into a monument to trust already spent.
noun
- Any fraud not distinguished by a more special name; chiefly applied to sales of the same property to two different persons, or selling that for one's own which belongs to another, etc.“The crime of stellionate[…]includes every fraud which is not distinguished by a special name; but it is chiefly applied to conveyances of the same numerical right granted by the proprietor to different disponees”