Man accused of hijacking Sarasota real estate business arrested on five felony counts

Derek Gilliam, Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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The man accused of fraudulently taking control of a Sarasota real estate company last year and then mortgaging the company's properties for more than $1 million has been arrested by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, according to the Sheriff's Office jail log.

Robert Houston has been charged with five counts, with bond set at $50,000 for each count, according to the Sheriff's Office. Houston was arrested on Tuesday and remained in the Manatee County jail on Thursday afternoon.

He has been charged with money laundering, scheme to defraud, criminal use of personal identification information, unlawful filing of false documents and obtaining property under false pretenses, according to a Sarasota Police department report released Friday morning. Linda Lukas, who shares an address and bank accounts with Houston, has also been charged with money laundering, scheme to defraud and criminal use of personal identification information.

Previous coverage:Stranger accused of using website flaw to hijack Sarasota man's real estate business

More:Man accused of hijacking Sarasota business countersues company he allegedly stole

This screen shot of Robert Houston's Facebook, shows him flying above downtown Sarasota in mid- August, just days after Jim Glenn discovered somebody had changed the officers in his company and mortgaged the company's properties for $1.3 million.
This screen shot of Robert Houston's Facebook, shows him flying above downtown Sarasota in mid- August, just days after Jim Glenn discovered somebody had changed the officers in his company and mortgaged the company's properties for $1.3 million.

Sarasota Police had previously confirmed an active criminal investigation involving accusations of fraud against Houston by Glenco Properties Group Corp. The police department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.

Glenco Properties Group has accused Houston in a lawsuit of removing the company's legitimate officers and naming himself CEO of the company by filing paperwork with the state's Division of Corporations.

The Florida Division of Corporations manages Sunbiz.org, which is the state's business records filing system. However, it accepts all documents submitted to it at face value, according to its website, and has no responsibility to verify the authenticity of documents submitted to it.

The state amended the law in 2018 to require notification by mail or email when a company's officers are changed after a South Florida man was defrauded using the state database.

After submitting the paperwork to the state, Houston allegedly took out two mortgages on the 21 properties owned by Glenco totaling more than $1 million, according to the lawsuit.

All of Glenco's properties were in the Newtown or Amaryllis Park area of Sarasota. The law office of Ulrich, Scarlett, Watts & Dean represents Glenco Properties in the lawsuit.

Houston's most recent filing in response to the lawsuit said Houston would not respond to several items of discovery demands, citing his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Man accused of hijacking Sarasota business arrested on five felonies