NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) -- A Hampton landlord was sentenced Wednesday to 17 years in prison for wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and race-based interference with housing and employment. According to court documents, David L. Merryman, 59, owned 39 rental properties in Newport News and 23 in Hampton. Many of Merryman's rental properties were in poor condition and located in low-income neighborhoods to target underprivileged African Americans with limited credit and housing options. From 2019 through at least January 2024, Merryman engaged in obtaining rent relief benefits to which he was not entitled, as well as fraudulently obtaining large initial payments in the form of security deposits, prepaid rent and other fees for rental homes that were in poor repair. Previous Coverage: Indicted Hampton landlord accused of defrauding Black tenants, racist language and threats For example, a tenant identified as E.P., regularly paid Merryman rent from 2015 until she was laid off from her job in 2021 during the pandemic after suffering medical problems. On May 10, 2021, Meryman applied to the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development for approximately $15,100 in rent benefits for E.P. and forged her signature without her approval. Despite obtaining those benefits for E.P., Merryman evicted her, citing her unpaid rent. E.P. then lost all her belongings when Merryman sent a crew to remove them from her home and tow her car when she was hospitalized. Merryman also harassed his minority tenants with slurs, comments about slavery, mocking comments, death threats and assaultive conduct related to their race, all in violation of their right to occupy and lease a dwelling free from racially motivated harassment, threats and force. A tenant, identified as L.G., made requests for necessary repairs to the home she was renting, to which Merryman repeatedly made racially derogatory responses. In April 2019, Merryman threatened to turn L.G. and her children into “potting soil.” L.G. obtained a protective order against Merryman, who then responded by, among other things, parking his vehicle just outside the prohibited radius of the order and intimidating L.G. and her family. “For years, David Merryman used his position of power as a landlord and his tenant’s economic vulnerability to make a profit,” said Brian Dugan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office. “He not only sought out tenants with few housing options to rent but then continued to racially harass and subject them to unsuitable living conditions. His victims were oftentimes mothers or fathers who just wanted to keep a roof over their family’s head. We’re thankful for today’s sentence which showcases the serious nature of these types of offenses, as well as the FBI’s commitment to investigating the perpetrators of these crimes.”