A Palmetto man was sentenced to 18 years in prison after hijacking a Sarasota real estate business and mortgaging its 21 properties for nearly $1.3 million.
In January 2023, Sarasota Police officers arrested Robert Houston after the Herald-Tribune detailed accusations that he had used Sunbiz, Florida’s digital business filing system, to temporarily take control of a Sarasota real estate company in an elaborate scheme.
Investigators found that Houston unlawfully updated Sunbiz to falsely name himself CEO of Glenco Properties Group Corp. He then mortgaged 21 company-owned properties, all without the knowledge or consent of its owners – 51-year-old Jim Glenn and Glenn’s 78-year-old mother, Beatrice Glenn…