The FBI confiscated laptop computers and a cell phone from real estate executive and former Republican Colorado state treasurer nominee Brian Watson last week as part of a grand jury investigation.

Watson, the founder and CEO of Denver-based commercial real estate firm Northstar Commercial Partners, said in an email to business associates and family members that he didn’t know what the FBI was investigating when agents served a search warrant at his home April 2 but maintained that he hasn’t done “anything illegal.”

“We are working hard to figure out what they are looking into, but we don’t know what that is,” Watson’s attorney, Stan Garnett, told Colorado Politics. “Brian vigorously denies he did anything wrong, and we’ll be proud to represent him.”

Watson, 48, won a three-way GOP primary for state treasurer in 2018 but lost the general election to Democrat Dave Young by about 7 percentage points. According to campaign finance records, Watson spent $1.35 million on his campaign.

In that race and an unsuccessful 2012 run for a state legislative seat, Watson came under fire for past business deals, including a series of liens filed against some of his properties for unpaid taxes, a bankruptcy, losing a home to foreclosure and failure to make good on contracts – experiences Watson said demonstrate that he’s still standing after weathering tough economic times.

Northstar, which celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year, owns or manages properties valued at $1.3 billion in 17 states, according to its website.

Watson said in a lengthy email dated April 2 and obtained by Colorado Politics that the FBI agents accused him of “fraud, misappropriation of funds, etc.” related to an ongoing project involving Amazon data centers in Virginia, leaving Watson “scared, shocked, and devastated.”

Watson referred an inquiry from Colorado Politics to Garnett, who said FBI agents spent “about an hour” at Watson’s home before taking the electronic equipment and leaving him with a warrant but declined to say what the document contained.

“We’re going to be working hard to make sure we know what the federal authorities think they’re looking at, and then we will work hard to make sure they understand what the real situation is,” Garnett said.

In the email, Watson speculated that investigators could be looking into a couple of different matters related to deals surrounding the Amazon project. But first, he said, he thought the agents had arrived to discuss another matter involving $3 million that disappeared when a contractor “was hacked” and instructed Northstar to wire the funds to the wrong recipient.

Watson said he contacted the FBI weeks ago to report the misdirected funds, which were tied to a development Northstar built in Michigan for Balfour, a Louisville-company based that operates senior living facilities.

Believing the agents had arrived with news about the “Balfour Ann Arbor wire fraud issue,” Watson said he welcomed them in, but soon the feds “changed tone” and told him that he was the target of their investigation.

Watson said he suspected a former employee or business associate has sparked the investigation, which he characterized as an “FBI witch hunt.”

He said he thought the probe could involve two former employees Watson said he fired after they made a roughly $20 million profit “behind my back” by flipping a parcel of land in Virginia or a referral agreement surrounding the Amazon deal. The FBI documents mentioned people involved in both transactions, Watson said.

A spokeswoman said in an email that the FBI couldn’t comment.