A man who ran a mortgage scheme that cost thousands of dollars for homeowners — some who lost their homes — was sentenced to prison Friday.
Patricia Ducket is one of those homeowners swindled out of her home by William Wayland, who convinced her to pay him to modify her mortgage as the bank foreclosed on her home.
“I just want him to pay for what he has done, the suffering he has caused,” Ducket told News4 in January 2020.
Ducket owned her home for 19 years and worked multiple jobs to keep it when Wayland said he could lower her payments.
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A judge went above sentencing guidelines in this case, sentencing Wayland to eight years in prison and five years of probation. If he violates probation after his release, he could go back to prison for another three years.
"What you did was egregious,” the judge told Wayland before sentencing. “You were the main actor. You preyed on people who needed help, and what they lost, they can't get back. "
Angela Paige lost thousands of dollars to Wayland and filed for bankruptcy to keep her home.
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“He appears to be arrogant to me, and I think he's going to do it again,” she said after court. “I don't think he's learned his lesson."
"He had a civil judge in Baltimore County sign a civil order in 2015 telling him not to give mortgage advice to people,” Prince George's County Assistant State's Attorney Drew Griggs said. “He ignored that order and by 2018 he had pled guilty to eight charges of defrauding people of money and violating the Mortgage Assistance Act."
While on probation, Wayland victimized others for years, according to prosecutors. Charging documents say he posed as an attorney and promised to help them modify mortgage payments.
"When a senior loses something like a home, it's difficult, if not nearly impossible, to get it back, because it's something they worked their whole lives for," Prince George's State's Attorney Aisha Braveboy said.
In court Friday, Wayland's attorney said that his home family is facing financial difficulties due to his incarceration, and they are looking at the possibility of losing their Potomac, Maryland, home.
Wayland also was ordered to pay $6,000 in restitution to Ducket.
