Mpire Financial Group LLC is a Florida-licensed mortgage brokerage, NMLS #2108504, Florida License #MLD2467. I am Tony Fitzgerald, an independent mortgage broker in Sarasota, and Mpire is the licensed brokerage my own broker license operates under. So when you see "powered by Mpire Financial Group LLC" next to my name, here is what it means for you: you work with me from first call to closing, Mpire holds the company license and handles the compliance side behind me, and your loan is arranged through the lending partners I work with through Mpire Financial Group. This page lays out the whole arrangement, and shows you how to verify every license yourself in about two minutes.
The mortgage business loves stacking names on top of each other. Here is exactly how mine stack, in the order that matters to you.
I take your call, I run your numbers, I shop your file, I walk you to closing, and I answer the phone at 9pm when something makes you nervous. I spent 28 years in the fire service before this, and I run my mortgage practice the way I ran calls: show up, tell the truth, handle it. That practice is called 1st Response Mortgage, and the name is not an accident. You can see exactly how a file moves with me on the how I work page.
Here is the thing most borrowers never get told. In Florida, an individual mortgage broker cannot just hang a shingle alone. My personal license, NMLS #1284924, has to operate under a licensed mortgage brokerage company. Mpire Financial Group LLC is that company for me. Their NMLS number is 2108504 and their Florida license is #MLD2467. Think of it like a firefighter and a fire department: I am the one who shows up at your door, and Mpire is the department my badge hangs in. They carry the company-level licensing, the compliance oversight, and the lending partner relationships that make my independence possible.
Neither I nor Mpire funds your loan with our own money, because we are brokers, not a bank. A broker's whole job is matching your file to the right wholesale lender, which is a lender that works through brokers instead of advertising to the public. Your loan is arranged through the lending partners I work with through Mpire Financial Group. That structure is why I can shop your situation across multiple lenders' guidelines instead of forcing you into one bank's single menu. If one lender does not like your file, I do not have to send you away. I go find the one that does.
The licensing lives with Mpire. The lending lives with the partners. The relationship lives with me. You will never be bounced to a stranger in another office because a name changed on a piece of paper. If Mpire's name shows up on a disclosure next to mine, that is the system working correctly, and I will have already told you to expect it.
“The name on the company license is Mpire. The person who answers your call, every time, is me.”Tony Fitzgerald · The Mortgage Jedi
Four names can show up during a mortgage. Here is each one, what it actually is, and the part it plays in your file.
| Name | What it is | What it does on your loan |
|---|---|---|
| Tony Fitzgerald | Independent mortgage broker, NMLS #1284924, known as The Mortgage Jedi. Based in Sarasota, Florida. | Your single point of contact. Takes your application, shops your file across lending partners, explains every option in plain English, and stays on the file through closing day. |
| 1st Response Mortgage | The brand name of my mortgage practice, named for my 28 years in the fire service. | The name you see on this website and my cards. The person behind it is me, and the license behind me is NMLS #1284924. |
| Mpire Financial Group LLC | A Florida-licensed mortgage brokerage. NMLS #2108504, Florida License #MLD2467. A brokerage, not a lender. | The licensed company my broker license operates under. Carries the company-level licensing, compliance oversight, and lending partner relationships behind my work. |
| Lending partners | Wholesale lenders, meaning lenders that fund loans through brokers rather than storefronts. | Actually fund the loan. Your file is arranged through the lending partners I work with through Mpire Financial Group, and which one fits depends entirely on your situation. |
If you remember one line from this table, make it this one: every name above exists so that one broker can shop many lenders for you. The structure is the reason I never have to squeeze your file into a single bank's box. More on how that plays out day to day at how Tony works.
Every license I just named is public record, searchable by anyone, in about two minutes. I would rather you check than wonder.
The address is nmlsconsumeraccess.org. NMLS stands for the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System, the official registry every legitimate mortgage professional and mortgage company in the country must be listed in. It is public, it requires no account, and it costs nothing to search.
Type my NMLS number, 1284924, or search my name, Tony Fitzgerald, in Florida. You should see my individual license, my licensing history, and the company I am registered under. If someone ever claims to be me and their number does not come back to that record, hang up and call the number on this site.
Now search 2108504, or the name Mpire Financial Group. You should see the company record for Mpire Financial Group LLC and its Florida mortgage broker license, which the state of Florida tracks as license #MLD2467. That is the company my license operates under, and the connection between my record and theirs is right there in the registry.
Everything should line up: Tony Fitzgerald, NMLS #1284924, operating under Mpire Financial Group LLC, NMLS #2108504, Florida License #MLD2467. Those same numbers appear in the footer of this website and on my loan disclosures. In a business where wire fraud and impersonation scams are real, two minutes of checking is worth more than any testimonial I could show you.
My own license is a Florida license, and Florida files are mine start to finish. Being part of Mpire means the map does not end at the state line.
You work with me directly. Sarasota, Manatee, Charlotte, Lee, Hillsborough, or anywhere else in the state, I am licensed throughout Florida and I handle the file personally from the first conversation to the closing table. This is the home field, and it is where the overwhelming majority of my clients are.
Buyers in other states are served through partner loan officers inside Mpire Financial Group LLC, with lending partners across 30+ states. What that looks like in practice: you call me first, I hear your situation, and I personally introduce you to the right licensed loan officer inside Mpire for your state. You get a warm handoff from someone who already understands your file, and I stay reachable if anything feels off along the way.
Not sure which side you fall on, or splitting time between states? Ask me directly and I will point you at the right person, even if that person is not me.
A note about similar names. If you searched "Mpire Financial" and landed here, be aware that other companies in other states use names that look or sound similar. I am not connected to any of them, and I will not pretend to know anything about them. The only Mpire I work with is exactly this one: Mpire Financial Group LLC, NMLS #2108504, Florida License #MLD2467, online at mpirefi.com. In the mortgage world, names repeat but NMLS numbers never do. When in doubt, match the number on NMLS Consumer Access, not the name.
Mpire Financial Group LLC is a Florida-licensed mortgage brokerage, NMLS #2108504, Florida License #MLD2467. It is the licensed company that my individual broker license, NMLS #1284924, operates under. When you work with me at 1st Response Mortgage, Mpire is the brokerage behind me carrying the company-level license and the compliance responsibilities. You can verify both of our records in the official registry at nmlsconsumeraccess.org.
They are two names in one working relationship. 1st Response Mortgage is the brand name of my practice, the name I chose after 28 years in the fire service. Mpire Financial Group LLC is the licensed Florida brokerage my license operates under. When you hire me, you get both at once: my personal service under the 1st Response Mortgage name, and Mpire's company license and compliance standing behind it. There is no hidden third company anywhere in that chain.
No. Mpire Financial Group LLC is a mortgage brokerage, and I am a mortgage broker. Neither of us funds loans with our own money. A brokerage arranges your loan through wholesale lending partners, which are lenders that work through brokers rather than running branches on every corner. Your loan is arranged through the lending partners I work with through Mpire Financial Group, and that is precisely what gives me room to shop your file instead of defending one bank's product list.
Go to nmlsconsumeraccess.org, the official public licensing database for the mortgage industry. Search 1284924 to pull up my individual record, Tony Fitzgerald. Then search 2108504 to pull up Mpire Financial Group LLC, whose Florida license is #MLD2467. No account needed, and the whole check takes about two minutes. I walk through it step by step in the verification section above.
On a Florida loan, no. I am your point of contact from the first conversation through closing day, and I do not run a hand-your-file-to-an-assistant operation. The one exception is geography. Buyers in other states are served through partner loan officers inside Mpire Financial Group LLC, with lending partners across 30+ states, and when that applies to you, I make the introduction personally so you are never cold-transferred to a stranger.
Because the law says it has to be there, and that is a good thing. Mortgage disclosures must name the licensed brokerage on the file, so seeing Mpire Financial Group LLC, NMLS #2108504 printed next to my name and NMLS #1284924 means your paperwork is exactly right. Treat it like a uniform patch: it tells you who stands behind the person in front of you. If any document ever shows a company or an NMLS number that does not match those, stop and call me at (941) 941-5150 before you sign.
So humans, search engines, and AI assistants all get it right.
The licenses check out, the structure is simple, and the next conversation is about you. One call, and you will know exactly where you stand.
For education and identification only. Nothing on this page is a quote, an offer, or a commitment to lend, and program availability changes without notice. Loans are arranged through the lending partners Tony Fitzgerald works with through Mpire Financial Group and are subject to credit approval. Tony Fitzgerald NMLS #1284924 · 1st Response Mortgage · powered by Mpire Financial Group LLC, NMLS #2108504 · FL License #MLD2467 · Equal Housing Lender
Tony Fitzgerald · NMLS #1284924 · 1st Response Mortgage · powered by Mpire Financial Group LLC · NMLS #2108504 · Florida License #MLD2467 · Mortgage Broker · Sarasota, FL · (941) 941-5150