A Pennsylvania couple who purchased a home nearly two years ago is suing the seller after discovering a swastika tiled into their basement floor only after moving in.
According to the complaint filed in court and obtained by PEOPLE on Wednesday, Aug. 27, Daniel and Lynn Rae Wentworth agreed to purchase the Beaver County property from the seller in September 2023.
After closing the deal and moving in, the Wentworths discovered that “Nazi iconography, including a swastika and a German eagle, had been tiled into the floor” of their basement, the complaint states.
The couple alleges that rugs had covered the basement floor during the home inspection prior to closing, and those rugs remained in place when they completed the purchase.
“Plaintiffs only discovered the Nazi symbolism several weeks after they had purchased the house and moved in,” the complaint notes.
Lynn Rae Wentworth told CBS affiliate KDKA that she and her husband had spent months searching for what they thought was their dream home. Initially, the home inspections and walkthrough seemed normal, and they went ahead with the purchase. But the shocking discovery came later, when Wentworth went into the basement with her nephew to clean up items left behind by the seller.
“I was like, ‘There’s something tiled into the floor here,’ and you take a step over here and you’re like, ‘Oh my gosh. This is a swastika,’ ” she said.
In the complaint, the Wentworths allege that the seller “knowingly and intentionally” hid the Nazi symbolism, describing the actions as “wholly outrageous, willful, wanton and reckless.” They claim the seller violated Pennsylvania’s real estate seller disclosure law, which requires sellers to reveal any known defects.
PEOPLE contacted Daniel Stoner, the Wentworths’ attorney, and the seller’s attorney for comment on Wednesday. Speaking with KDKA, Stoner said the seller allegedly installed the iconography in the basement floor in the 1970s.
According to Stoner, the seller argued that the swastika is an ancient symbol with different meanings in various cultures, mostly positive. The seller’s attorney also claimed that the symbolism is not considered a defect and therefore did not need to be disclosed.
Wentworth told the outlet that the couple was denied the chance to make an informed decision about the purchase.
“We were denied that opportunity simply because somebody couldn’t take five seconds to say, ‘Hey, take a look at the basement floor. There’s some symbols down there,’ ” she said.
The Wentworths are seeking to have the tiles removed, arguing that the seller should cover the $30,000 cost to replace the flooring. In total, they are pursuing damages not exceeding $50,000.
“It’s mine now, and I don’t want it, but it’s mine. I own it, which is horrific,” Wentworth told KDKA.
