Upscale home builder Steven Sanfilippo was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for bilking customers and subcontractors out of nearly $800,000.

The Santa Rosa County courtroom where he was sentenced was nearly filled with supporters and a number of his victims.

A jury convicted Sanfilippo, 46, in April of more than two dozen counts of theft, fraud and racketeering.

"He could have stopped at any time but did not," Assistant State Attorney Russ Edgar said of the fraud that encompassed eight homeowners and 18 subcontractors and suppliers between 2002 and 2004. "He took their money, and he took their dreams."

The homeowners were swindled out of $522,849, and the businesses are owed $263,529, according to the prosecution.

Sanfilippo also was ordered to serve 15 years' probation after his prison term and to pay restitution to his victims.

In Santa Rosa County Jail since his conviction, Sanfilippo appeared in court wearing a light-blue jail uniform and handcuffs.

When Circuit Judge Paul Rasmussen announced the sentence, Sanfilippo's chin sank to his chest.

Rasmussen admonished him for wasting his skill and talent for building homes, saying that throughout the trial he didn't hear a single complaint about the quality of his work.

As president of Anthony Homes, Sanfilippo received recognition for his designs of homes in the Pensacola Bay Area, including a $1.6 million home he built for himself on East Gadsden Street in Pensacola. He also had donated to the Pensacola Cultural Center and helped raise money for the Alzheimer's Association of Northwest Florida.

Before the sentencing, Sanfilippo apologized to the families and subcontractors who lost money after dealing with him in the course of building homes in Grand Pointe East near Gulf Breeze and Whispers at Cordova near Cordova Mall.

Many of his victims were retired; some lost more than $100,000.

"I let them down by basically not handling the construction funds properly," he said. "These are the results of bad decisions that were made over the last several years."

The prosecution argued it was more than just mismanagement.

"What we're talking about here is lying, cheating and stealing," Edgar said. "He still mischaracterizes what he did."

Before the sentence was handed down, Sanfilippo's older brother, Richard, who operates Sam's Fun City amusement park on U.S. 29, said his family has made arrangements to begin restitution by mortgaging his mother's house. There is $100,000 in an account for that use; another $85,000 could be available, he said.


"We have made arrangements to lend Steven some funds," the older brother said. "We realize how serious the situation is."

Richard Sanfilippo repeated the defense argument that his brother became overextended in his business and really didn't intend to rip off anyone.

"I didn't see any evidence that Steven has personally profited," Richard Sanfilippo said.

Edgar disagreed, saying that the builder lived richly while he was ripping off his customers.

Defense attorney Ross Keene asked Rasmussen for a relatively short sentence, citing Sanfilippo's lack of criminal past and his need to earn money to repay his victims.

Six people spoke at the sentencing hearing to urge the maximum amount of prison time possible.

Some people were glad he got the long prison sentence but expressed doubt they would ever see a penny of restitution.

"We're happy he's going to jail, but it's not helping us pay the bills," said Kristen Sanders, whose parents, Nancy and Richard Buchs, lost $90,000 when they hired Sanfilippo to build their dream retirement home.

Troy Bouk, 40, said he put his life savings into the house he asked Sanfilippo to build. He later found out that the builder took his money and, just two days later, used it for other purposes.

Dealing with Sanfilippo also was an ordeal because he would erupt at customers when they asked about the progress of their construction, Bouk said.

"People are just victims to him," said Bouk, who had to finish the house himself. "We have been through the wringer on this."

Edgar said his office would assist the homeowners in applying for state reimbursement of as much as $50,000, but the businesses could have a more difficult time getting their money back.

Sanfilippo still faces Escambia County charges of grand theft between $20,000 and $100,000.

The case involves several contractors who hired him to repair homes damaged by Hurricane Ivan on Sept. 16, 2004. He's accused of defrauding those contractors after he had been arrested for the case in which he was sentenced Thursday.