The Connecticut state attorney general stepped into a probate proceeding to challenge the sales agreement stemming from 2005 that challenged the legitimacy of a sales agreement in which an elderly Greenwich woman agreed to sell her home to two men for less than half of what it was worth at the time.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal intervened after Mona Lee Johnson, of Greenwich, agreed to sell her home, estimated to be worth $1.2 million, for $500,000, a month before she passed away.

The Attorney General's Office alleged that her neighbor, Mark Lovallo, had urged Johnson to sign off on the sales option while she was sick in the hospital. The deal also included her longtime accountant, David Alfano.

Blumenthal said that Johnson never intended to approve the deal, which would have significantly lowered the amount of money that would have been donated to eight of her favorite charities. Johnson's will divided nearly all of her $1.5 million estate to charities including the Greenwich Library and Perrot Memorial Library in Old Greenwich.

"I fought successfully to stop this suspect agreement denying hundreds of thousands of dollars to charities intended to benefit from the home's sale," said Blumenthal. "In charity law, the donor's wishes are paramount. This donor never wished to sell her home at a bargain-basement price, significantly slashing the proceeds to charities named in her will."

Blumenthal said the "suspect" agreement caught his attention because his office is in charge of enforcing charity laws and often reviews probate cases involving charitable donations.

"We were the only ones to challenge this agreement. It came to our attention through filings in the probate court," said Blumenthal.

If the sales agreement had gone through and Johnson's home was sold for $500,000, Blumenthal said the estate's total value would have been about $300,000 less.

"Ill and infirm, this woman supposedly signed papers while hospitalized and in the last month of her life, raising grave doubt the agreement reflected her true wishes," said Blumenthal.

Probate Judge Daniel Caruso voided the agreement earlier this month. The house will now be offered to Lovallo and Alfano for one month at the original fair market price at $1.2 million. Blumenthal said if they fail to act on the deal, the executor of the estate will put it on the market to be sold for at least $800,000 or more.

Johnson's estate also includes $700,000 in stocks and cash.

After expenses, all but $100,000 of the estate will be divided among eight charities including, Weimaraner Foundation, AKC Canine Health Foundation, Perrot Memorial Library, Greenwich Library, Cornell University Veterinarian School, University of Pennsylvania Veterinarian School, Tufts Veterinarian School and the Embroiders Guild.

Calls to Lovallo and Alfano Friday were not immediately returned.

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