A Montgomery County man allegedly swindled a Prince George's County woman out of her home, which she wanted to pass on to her children.
Patricia Ducket lived in the house for 20 years and said she thought it would be her home forever. When she lost one of her two jobs and wanted to slightly modify her mortgage, a friend told her William Wayland could help.
Ducket said Wayland said he was an attorney, told her to stop paying her mortgage in order to show hardship to the bank and pay him instead. Soon her home was foreclosed on.
“One off the biggest things here with this case is that he did represent himself as a lawyer,” said Ducket’s attorney, Wala Blegay. “He even used a logo of a law firm at the top of his installment plan or receipts that he gave to Ms. Ducket.”
Wayland was on probation in Montgomery County for doing the same thing in 2014.
A Prince George's County grand jury indicted Wayland on Ducket's case in December, and while a judge did release him on his own recognizance, he was ordered back to jail this week.
“Ms. Ducket is not going to be able to give that house to her kids, which was always the plan,” Blegay said. “She wanted to be able to pass something on … and she can't do that because a man was greedy and he saw her as a way to fill his pockets instead of assisting her in saving her home.”
Prince George's County
Prince George's County, Maryland, news updates, events and information
Prince George’s County NAACP Housing Committee Chair Elizabeth Johnson said Prince George's County has been a prime target since the 2008 home mortgage crisis.
“When you have someone come along and they’ve got a story, they know all the buzz words and all the secret words you don't know, then it's very easy to trust in them,” she said.
Wayland is looking at five charges connected to the alleged scheme that cost Ducket her home. He's due in court next month.
“I just want him to pay for what he has done, the suffering he's caused,” Ducket said.
Those looking for legitimate mortgage assistance can find it at Strategic Housing Solutions, Inc. and Hope Housing Counselors Network.
