Man guilty in mortgage scam

Eric Tamargo gets 21 months in prison for a mortgage loan scheme masterminded by a former USF art student, who is now a fugitive.

By JEFF TESTERMAN
Published June 9, 2005

TAMPA - Two years ago, Eric C. Tamargo agreed to buy a pair of rundown homes in Tampa Heights by signing loan papers showing he was a $102,046-a-year marketing manager for a local tax service.

But when Tamargo signed the loan documents, he scribbled the name James Lee Redd on the bottom line.

The ID cards he presented bore his photo but were also in the name of Redd. And the Social Security number he offered was one that had actually been stolen from a 4-year-old child.

Tamargo was no tax consultant turned real estate investor. He was actually a down-on-his-luck lot clearer who, according to federal court papers, was enlisted to act as a straw man in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud masterminded by former University of South Florida art student Matthew B. Cox.

Wednesday, the straw man became the fall guy.

Tamargo's take for appearing as James Redd at the two loan closings was about $1,000. But U.S. District Judge Susan C. Bucklew decided Wednesday morning that Tamargo must go to prison for 21 months and repay $232,278 for signing for fraudulent loans of $130,500 and $104,800.

The sentence was the result of a plea deal in which Tamargo pleaded guilty to wire fraud, mail fraud and fraudulent use of a Social Security number, and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors. He faced a maximum of five years behind bars and a $250,000 fine.

Tamargo has previously declared bankruptcy, and has few tangible assets that could be sold to pay his restitution. He was represented by a public defender. His restitution debt may be reduced as the holdings for Ybor City real estate firm Urban Equity Inc., where Cox worked, are liquidated. Tamargo's share could also drop as more defendants are convicted and sentenced.

Tamargo was given credit for about four months he has served since his initial arrest. He was jailed for violating conditions of his pretrial release when he tested positive for methamphetamine three times in January.

While Cox's confederates are being prosecuted, Cox remains a fugitive. Authorities say he is responsible for a white-collar crime spree that began in Tampa and has now stretched into two other states.

"Eric thought Matt Cox was some sort of real estate guru," said Tamargo's father, Tom, moments after seeing his son sentenced to prison. "He thought he was going to get some help fixing his credit. Instead, he got involved in this.

"He was bamboozled."

Cox, the acquisitions director for Urban Equity, was behind an elaborate scheme to use phony credentials, false documents and inflated prices to buy more than 90 properties in the Tampa Heights area with millions in fraudulent mortgage loans, according to bankruptcy records.

Hillsborough County records show the name James Redd, for instance, was used to buy six properties and to obtain loans totaling $894,000.

A grand jury investigation into the conspiracy is ongoing, and prosecutors have said they expect to indict as many as 15 people.

Cox was already on probation for mortgage fraud when he became head of acquisitions at Urban Equity. He disappeared in December 2003 after the St. Petersburg Times published an article entitled "Dubious Deals" which raised questions about the company's activities.

Cox, 35, surfaced in the Atlanta area last summer, where the U.S. Secret Service said in a criminal complaint he and a female accomplice used stolen identities to commit $800,000 worth of fraud.

The trail of fraud next led to Columbia, S.C., where authorities say Cox used forged documents and fictional names to obtain an estimated $1-million in fraudulent mortgage loans. Cox was detained by police in Columbia briefly in April, but released before anyone realized his real identity and the existence of arrest warrants for him.

Meanwhile, in Tampa, attorneys sifting through mortgage records in a bankruptcy proceeding for Urban Equity are finding loans Cox and his associates got often exceeded the value of homes pledged as collateral.

One such case is the 2,190-square-foot home at 1521 17th Ave., a property purchased by the fictitious Redd for $131,000.

Just five months after Tamargo signed Redd's name to obtain a $104,800 mortgage, the city of Tampa ruled the ramshackle structure should be condemned.

--Jeff Testerman can be reached at 813 226-3422 or by e-mail at testerman@sptime.com

[Last modified June 9, 2005, 01:16:07]