Naples man cleared in $70 million fraud lawsuit

A Naples resident accused of a $70 million fraud by up to six foreign companies in a civil lawsuit has been cleared of any wrongdoing by the judge overseeing the case.

Judge Elizabeth Krier of the 20th Judicial Circuit in Collier County issued the ruling March 30 that cleared Edward Brinkmann and his company, Majab Development LLC. The lawsuit against Brinkmann alleged he had cooked up a scheme to artificially mark up the price of various goods ordered by a network of foreign oil and gas sector companies he worked for as head of procurement.