Article Courtesy of The Tampa Bay Times

By Susan Taylor Martin  

Published October 20, 2017

The Clearwater lawyer accused of tricking a bidder into paying $458,100 for a gulf-front condo now plans to contest a judge’s order tossing out the sale.

On Monday, attorney Roy C. Skelton’s company Deutsche Residential Mortgage filed a notice of appeal with the Second District Court of Appeal in Lakeland.

The action comes two months after Pinellas Circuit Judge Jack St. Arnold vacated the sale of a North Redington Beach condo on which Deutsche held a mortgage because of what the judge called an “unscrupulous” and “conniving” schemed to dupe bidders at a foreclosure auction.

In August during a hearing Sixth Judicial Circuit court Judge Jack St. Arnold at the Pinellas County Courthouse. The judge agreed with Houde’s allegation that he was duped by Skelton in thinking he bought a Redington Beach condo for $458,100 out of a foreclosure auction. Now Skelton is fighting back.

“While I respectfully disagreed with the judge’s decision,” Skelton said at the time, “I will respect it and not file an appeal.”

The convoluted and controversial saga of Unit 514 in the Ram-Sea II condominiums began two years ago when another of Skelton’s companies, Outbidya, Inc., paid $157,8000 for the condo at a homeowners association foreclosure auction. Last year, shortly after Wells Fargo began foreclosing on the first mortgage, Skelton created Deutsche — no relation to the giant German bank — and took back a second mortgage from Outbidya.  Read more: