'Foreclosure King' Arrested For Bankruptcy Fraud

'Foreclosure King' Arrested For Bankruptcy Fraud

A one-time ‘king of foreclosures’ and his adult son were arrested in Pewaukee, Wisconsin, early on Oct. 20. The door to Todd Brunner’s home was broken in by heavily armed federal agents, before he and his 24-year-old son were taken into custody by U.S. marshals assisted by the FBI, Waukesha County Sheriff’s deputies and Pewaukee police, according to the Star Tribune. The pair have been indicted on charges related to bankruptcy fraud.

Brunner built a real estate empire by purchasing hundreds of foreclosed homes across southeastern Wisconsin, according to the news source. In 2011, however, this empire collapsed, prompting the mogul to declare bankruptcy. Now, prosecutors allege that Brunner and his son hid assets from bankruptcy court and that the elder Brunner attempted to conceal more than $7 million in assets from lenders.

In an ironic twist of fate, Brunner was arrested in a home that he lost to foreclosure earlier this year, according to the Milwaukee – Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. After federal prosecutors informed U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Joseph that Brunner and his son were avoiding service of a summons ordering them to appear in court, Joseph issued the warrant for their arrests. The two surrendered peacefully and were taken into custody around 7:30 a.m.

According to a separate article by the Journal Sentinal, Brunner claimed that his business of rehabilitating and renting out foreclosed properties generated approximately $1.5 million to $2 million per year at its peak. By 2011, Brunner was almost $20 million in debt and filing for protection under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy law.

In 2012, Brunner’s bankruptcy case was thrown out of court for failure to disclose assets.