Janek Co., a Spokane real estate company that has specialized in marketing high-end homes, has closed all of its four offices in Eastern Washington and North Idaho.


Jan Ekstrom, the companys founder and president, says she closed Janeks offices earlier this year and left the Inland Northwest for a time. She has returned, she says, and is living in Sandpoint and coming to Spokane regularly.


She says she currently is doing some consulting work and is considering whether to reopen Janek Co. She hopes to make a decision about that in the next couple of months.


Ekstrom contends that in an act of massive betrayal, other people worked together to put Janek out of business, and she says she is considering starting litigation against those people. She declines for now to disclose further details, but says she expects to release additional information in the coming weeks.


In the Spokane area, the company previously operated an office at 819 W. Seventh, on Spokanes South Hill, and at 2501 N. Discovery, in Liberty Lake. The company also had operated offices in Coeur dAlene and Sandpoint.


Janek Co. still is an active corporation, according to the Washington state Secretary of States office. Also, the company still is a member in good standing with the Spokane Area Association of Realtors, an association spokesman says.


Ekstrom served as chairwoman of the Spokane Area Economic Development Council two years ago.


She founded Janek in 1995 and has been known for handling transactions involving luxury properties throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho and also in Western Montana. The company also had a commercial division and was active in residential and commercial development.