It's essentially theft, but not in a legal sense. Forcing people out of their homes without listening to their forces is a form of moral theft.

(apollo listens to the mayor explaining things intently, his eyes squinting in thought as he sorts through everything. a rich businessman mainly focusing in vacations and the like as his business... wants to buy out a small harbor village.

apollo isn't even a fully fledged lawyer yet, but he can still smell the bullshit from this idea.) So what, he plans on turning this place into another vacation getaway? How did he even manage to get all this paperwork so easily? Buying out an entire village isn't something you just do.