Wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and race-based interference with housing and employment charges led to David Merryman recently being sentenced to 17 years in prison, according to Black Enterprise. The focus of his conviction was his harassing, discriminatory language and secretly using their identities to profit from. One of the ways he received money was by applying their stolen profiles on COVID-19 relief fund applications. He did this to various Black renters across his 60 investment properties in the Newport and Hampton regions.

Court documents revealed that the Eastern District of Virginia’s prosecution team declared Merryman “fraudulently obtained large initial payments in the form of security deposits, prepaid rent and other fees for rental homes that were in poor repair.” He started doing this from 2019 to early 2024 after allegedly gathering the necessary information about tenants. Afterward, he aimed to swiftly terminate the victim’s tenancy to continue this theft on prospective leaseholders.

He allegedly even forged the unsuspecting occupants’ signatures sometimes, while continuously taunting them with getting evicted despite the federal and state governments extensively dispursing relief funds to tenants. The horrific status of the homes in which these particular people lived included holes in the ceiling, leaks and rodents or pests per the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. It was discovered that the landlord strategically chose the rental homes of the residents in underserved areas because he knew they didn’t have other places to live.

Additionally, Merryman allegedly badgered renters with racial slurs and often made them multiple security deposits and payments for repairs that were never resolved. An example was in October 2022, when he rented a home without a functioning stove or refrigerator to a Black man. He charged an “initial deposit of $1,000 and a move-in deposit of $1,600 about two weeks later,” assuring the tenant he would address the issues. However, Merryman later demanded an extra payment of over $1,000 and spewed hateful rhetoric when the tenant asked him to fulfill his promise to make repairs.

“You people, man, it’s always the Black ones that got to have the problem moving in,” Merryman allegedly replied.

In another recent occurrence, the defendant and a group of men entered a tenant’s property without permission. When the tenant came outside to address the situation, Merryman allegedly threatened them with a brick and possibly a firearm. Throughout the encounter, Merryman repeatedly hurled racial slurs, referring to the tenant as a “Black motherf*****” and a “fing n****r.”

Jessica Aber, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, mentioned in a press release that he wasn’t following the laws and regulations set in place that protect tenants.

“David Merryman deliberately targeted families of color with limited means and housing options,” she said. “Landlords have a responsibility under the law to uphold housing rights and protect the human dignity of the people to whom they rent. Mr. Merryman failed to uphold that responsibility and is paying a heavy price for his racial discrimination and fraud.”