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The FBI is investigating the business dealings and bankruptcy of Todd Brunner, the one-time foreclosure king whose real estate empire crumbled under the weight of nearly $20 million in debt last year, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation.

The investigation of Brunner started this year after the U.S. Trustee Office said in court filings that he had deceived the bankruptcy court by trying to hide assets, said a source with knowledge of the investigation. The Journal Sentinel reported in October that two other police agencies were investigating Brunner, whose holdings include about 200 properties and an array of expensive boats and cars.

Disclosure of the FBI investigation comes as the Trustee - an arm of the U.S. Justice Department - is asking Bankruptcy Judge James Shapiro to dismiss Brunner's petition to reorganize his debts under protection of the bankruptcy court. Dismissal of the bankruptcy would leave the Pewaukee man and his wife, Sharon, liable for about $20 million in debt.

Brunner built his real estate portfolio largely by attending sheriff's sales throughout southeastern Wisconsin and buying foreclosed properties that were auctioned off, generally at a deep discount. Among his holdings are 143 properties in Milwaukee, which owed back property taxes of more than $1.3 million as of March 6, city records show.

In addition to his real estate, Brunner's bankruptcy filing lists ownership of about two dozen cars and boats, including a 2006 Bentley, three boats and a 2000 Porsche Boxster.

Jonathan Goodman, Brunner's lawyer, declined to comment about the substance of the criminal investigations except to say: "All I know is that the FBI and (Milwaukee) police have been interviewing some of his tenants," Goodman said.

The FBI investigation is in its early stages and is looking at the possibility of fraud in Brunner's dealings in the bankruptcy case or with tenants, two sources said. FBI and Milwaukee Police Department spokesmen declined to comment.

Since he filed for bankruptcy last June, creditors and the Trustee Office have questioned whether Brunner fully disclosed all of his holdings, as required by law. This year, the Trustee Office alleged in a court filing that Brunner did not disclose all of his property holdings, including property he owned in Bend, Ore., and that he falsely claimed his financial records were ruined by an irate ex-employee.

The two other investigations of Brunner started last summer. As a result of one of the investigations, Brunner was charged in Fond du Lac County with a felony accusing him of writing a worthless check for $13,472 the day before he filed for bankruptcy. Prosecutors charge the check was written so Brunner could retrieve a 33-foot boat from a repair shop.

The Milwaukee police investigation is looking at a number of issues, including potential fraud in Brunner's dealings with tenants, sources said.

Theresa Brand of Milwaukee said in an interview Tuesday that Brunner agreed to sell her the northwest side home where she lives with her family several years ago.

Brand - who has been interviewed by police, the Trustee Office and the FBI - testified at a recent Brunner bankruptcy hearing that the monthly payments she made to Brunner were to be applied to the property purchase.

Despite the agreement, however, she charged that Brunner has refused to count the payments as going toward a purchase, even though she wrote the word "mortgage" on the memo line of her checks.

In testimony at a bankruptcy court hearing this week, Brunner disputed Brand's story, saying the property is owned by his brother and that he only managed it. While he initially discussed selling the home to her several years ago, he said, no sale agreement was ever reached. He said he told Brand repeatedly that "this is not a mortgage, you're renting it."