Family, friends in on real estate plot
Web of fraudulent flips leads to prison for Todd Kolbe, problems for many others
For almost 10 years, Todd Kolbe was the mastermind of an effort to defraud banks of millions of dollars by inflating the value of Southwest Florida real estate.
Kolbe, a mortgage broker by trade, drew family and friends into the effort.
He created a series of home building companies that collapsed, one after another, destroying the reputations of those closest to him, distorting the local real estate market and frustrating dozens of home buyers who had trusted Kolbe and his associates.