Landlord pleads guilty to racially harassing, evicting tenants

    HAMPTON, Virginia (WTKR) -- A landlord in Hampton, David L. Merryman, 59, pleaded guilty Wednesday afternoon to wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and race-based interference with housing and employment.

In January, News 3 covered that Merryman made threats and racial comments to his tenants.

"He called me a n**** lover and told me that I didn’t pay my bills like other White people do," Samantha Feeley told News 3's Leondra Head. "I had Black roommates so that was a problem with him."

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Merryman owned 62 rental properties, 39 in Newport News and 23 more in Hampton. He would target low-income neighborhoods, with the intent to evict African-American tenants with limited credit and housing options.

Merryman also engaged in a multi-facted scheme for over 5 years, implying he would lease the rentals for longer terms while intending to evict them as quickly as possible and gain high initial payments, from 2019 to 2024 according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

"He used my signature to apply for rent relief funds during the pandemic," Feely said she found out a year after her name and signature were miused. "I gave my signature to the FBI agents and from there they could tell I wasn’t the one that applied."

This is not the first time he was arrested, as he was arrested back in 2022 for denying employees minimum wage through his maintenance company, Merryman Grounds Maintenance Inc.

Merryman is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18. He could face up to 23 years in prison, but Sacks said as part of the plea deal the government has agreed to cap the sentence at 14 years. Sacks, though, said he plans to ask for less time.

Merryman will not have to give up his properties. Sacks said that is not part of the plea deal in this case.