Newport News, Va. – A Hampton man has pled guilty to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and race-based interference with housing and employment, according to court documents. David L. Merryman, 59, admitted to engaging in a complex scheme to defraud his tenants and racially harass them.
Merryman owns 62 rental properties across Newport News and Hampton, many of which are in poor condition and situated in low-income neighborhoods. He primarily rented these properties to underprivileged African American tenants with limited housing options.
From 2019 through at least January 2024, Merryman fraudulently obtained rent relief benefits and collected large initial payments, such as security deposits and prepaid rent, for properties in disrepair. He misled tenants into believing they would have long-term leases but planned to evict them quickly to repeat his scheme with new tenants.
In addition to financial fraud, Merryman harassed his minority tenants with racial slurs, comments about slavery, death threats, and other threatening behavior. He fabricated lease documents, forged tenants’ signatures, and misrepresented his authority to act on their behalf.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Merryman filed fraudulent rent relief applications using his tenants’ names and personal information without their consent. He often did not inform tenants of these benefits, even evicting some for unpaid rent despite receiving relief funds on their behalf.
Merryman’s actions included obtaining money from tenants under false pretenses, promising to repair properties but never intending to do so. One tenant, identified as L.G., experienced repeated racial harassment from Merryman, who threatened her and her children and violated a protective order she obtained against him.
Another tenant, E.P., paid rent regularly until she was hospitalized in 2021. Merryman forged her signature to obtain $15,100 in rent relief benefits but evicted her anyway, leading to the loss of all her belongings.
Merryman also threatened a concrete construction business owner, E.S., who completed a project Merryman failed to finish. After E.S. obtained a protective order, Merryman continued to intimidate him at job sites.
Merryman is scheduled for sentencing on December 18. He faces up to twenty years in prison for wire fraud, one year for each count of race-based interference with housing and employment, and a mandatory minimum of two years for aggravated identity theft. A federal district court judge will determine the final sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.