Erin Toll, the executive director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate who's been criticized for her investigation of American Home Funding, is officially on leave from the division.

News organizations have not been able to discover why, exactly, she left, but Toll has clearly ruffled feathers, including those of American Home Funding, which employs state Senator Ted Harvey as a mortgage broker. The firm is being investigated by Toll's office for allegedly misleading consumers with advertising fliers that look like federal tax documents.

Last week, it became clear Harvey was not part of the investigation. Asked about Toll, Harvey, a Highlands Ranch Republican, tells InsideRealEstateNews he believes she's gone on leave, adding "he'd rather not go into it, for obvious reasons."

Tensions, according to The Denver Post, have simmered between Harvey and Toll since early February, when Toll pushed the idea of creating a board that would oversee an investigation into mortgage brokers. In an interview before her leave, Toll said she felt threatened by Harvey, who says he apologized for his tone.

Division employees have not been given a reason for Toll's absence or told how long she would be out. Marcia Waters, the division's director of investigations and compliance, has been named acting executive director.