Cops: Trail of Fraud Starts In Asheville

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William Holbert also goes by the names Luke Gregory Kuhn and Donald Lee Brukart.

When an Oak Island, North Carolina couple returned to their vacation house on the coast, they made a shocking discovery.There was a man inside, making renovations to their home. And he adamantly claimed that he owned the house. Even more startling was that the man had a deed.

The three came to realize that they had been duped and William Holbert, the man cops say is responsible, was nowhere to be found.

Holbert came onto the scene from Asheville, in the west part of the state. Back in his hometown, Holbert had a store that sold white supremacy goods. But the entrepreneur and alleged con man set his sights on a new venture.

Officials say he first assumed a new identity and began telling people he was a doctor. Soon, he met a property investor who was interested in buying a house and fixing it up. Authorities say Holbert tricked him into buying a home and told him that he was selling the property for his elderly godmother who needed the money. The house was valued at around a half million dollars, but cops say Holbert wanted to sell fast. So, he let it go for less than half the market price.

After the deal had closed officially on Oct. 4, 2005, cops say Holbert left North Carolina and bought a home in Louisa, Kentucky with the cash from his last scam.

When cops went to investigate, Holbert was gone. Because he is known to travel throughout the United States, he could have been anywhere. 

Disappearing Act In The Snow

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Laura Michelle Reese is Holbert's girlfriend and cops say she has been with him during all of his exploits.

While Holbert was on the run, cops say he went as far as Ireland, but came back to America by the beginning of the year.

On Feb 6, 2006, on a rural highway in the middle of snow barren Wyoming, a patrolman pulled over a man for a traffic violation. But when he ran the man's license and the car's tags, he realized that he had much more on his hands than just a routine charge. Cops say that the car was stolen and that the man driving, who called himself Luke Kuhn, was really the fugitive Holbert.

Cops say Holbert took off, recklessly trying to escape the law in a chase with speeds in excess of 100 mph in a thick storm. In the pursuit of his life, the patrolman called for back up and followed him over the snow-covered farmland. But his patrol car couldn't hold up in the conditions. When the back-up cops arrived, they found that Holbert had violently crashed his car and ran off into the whiteness of the terrain.

Love On The Run

Laura Michelle Reese is Holbert's girlfriend and cops say she has been by his side during all his alleged frauds. The pair was last seen renting a 14-foot UHaul van in Bismarck, North Dakota, under the name Michelle Brukart. Cops say that this is her alias, but she might be using the same fake last name as Holbert.

The van was found in West Palm Beach, Florida, but neither Holbert nor Reese has been spotted since.