Local Mortgage Broker and Business Owner Sentenced

TAMPA—United States District Judge Steven D. Merryday today sentenced Bruno Skoczynski (36, Dunedin), the owner of E-Value Mortgage Services and E-Value Title Services, to two years in federal prison. Skoczynski pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud conspiracy charges in June 2012.

According to court documents, from May 2007 through July 2008, Skoczynski was a licensed mortgage broker and owned and operated E-Value Title Services and E-Value Mortgage Services. His wife was a licensed realtor. During that time, Skoczynski was involved with the developers of La Encantada Villas in Tampa, Richard Cartagena and Neil Ferrigno, among others. Skoczynski acted as the mortgage broker and title company for the sale of some of Cartagena’s properties, including some of the La Encantada Villas townhouses. He received commissions in connection the sales. Skoczynski prepared and completed sales, loans, and closing documents that contained false statements and misrepresentations for properties owned and sold by Cartagena. Some of the fraudulent mortgage practices that Skoczynski participated in involved payments from the developers to the buyers to use for down payments, which were later returned. These material misrepresentations allowed these purchasers, and ultimately the developers, as sellers, to borrow money to close loans for properties that they could not afford and induced lenders to disburse funds for the loans based on misrepresentations as to the equity in these properties.

Cartagena and Ferrigno were previously sentenced by Judge Merryday for conspiring to commit mortgage fraud. Cartagena was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison, and Ferrigno was sentenced to eight months in federal prison. Two other purchasers of townhomes at the La Encantada development have also been sentenced by Judge Merryday. The court ordered each individual in this case to make restitution payments to victim lenders in an amount totaling more than $2 million. In addition, the court forfeited all traceable monetary proceeds received by each individual.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelley C. Howard-Allen.