Prince George's County woman loses home after falling victim to mortgage scam
Patricia Duckett says she was scammed out of her home in District Heights by William Wayland.
DISTRICT HEIGHTS, Md. (FOX 5 DC) - A Prince George’s County woman has lost her home after falling victim to an alleged mortgage scam, and the man indicted in the case is no stranger to mortgage fraud.
William Wayland is accused of theft and pretending to be an attorney among other charges. It comes a year after he pleaded guilty to multiple mortgage relief violations in Montgomery County after he was indicted there.
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Patricia Duckett said a friend referred her to Wayland after she lost one of her two jobs and knew she needed to reduce her mortgage payments.
“I said, ‘Oh Lord, then let me get my mortgage down because I’ll just be doing the one job,’” said Duckett. “That’s why I wanted to do the modification.”
She lived in her District Heights home for nearly 20 years.
Duckett said Wayland told her he was an attorney and she paid him more than $7,000 to refinance her mortgage. What she didn’t know is it’s illegal nationwide for someone to charge you upfront for mortgage services.
MORE: News from Prince George's County
She said Wayland instructed her to stop paying her mortgage in February of last year and told her to give him all the mail regarding the house.
“He told me he never lost a case,” Duckett said.
She said eventually he stopped responding to texts and calls. Duckett provided FOX 5 some of her texts with Wayland.
“I truly don’t like what I’m feeling, praying I’m not losing my house,” she wrote to him in September.
She went on to learn that not only was her house in foreclosure, but it had also already been sold at auction. It was too late to save her home.
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Patricia Duckett's former home in District Heights.
“I haven’t been sleeping, I haven’t been eating because I’ve been packing,” Duckett said. “We’re talking about 19 years worth of stuff.”
FOX 5 spoke to Duckett at the end of October, just before she met with police and had to move out of her home.
Earlier this month, a Prince George’s County grand jury indicted Wayland on five counts in Duckett’s case.
Wayland was initially picked up for violating his probation in the Montgomery County case. After pleading guilty to eight counts of mortgage relief violations in 2018, he avoided three years of prison time. The Maryland Attorney General’s Office said a probation hearing is scheduled for Jan. 8.
Back in 2014, the state banned Wayland from doing any type of mortgage services work after he took upfront payments from 17 people.
MORE: News from Montgomery County
William Wayland has been indicted in connection with Patricia Duckett's case in Prince George's County.
“When is enough, enough?” asked Duckett’s son, Clayton.
He said he hopes this time Wayland serves time for what he’s done.
“It’s really hard when I know my mother planned on leaving something for her children and grandchildren and this (house) was one of the things she planned on leaving for someone,” he said. “And it’s taken from, not just her, it’s taken from my family. This is all my children know.”
Wayland was arraigned Friday and released on bond.
FOX 5 spoke by phone to Wayland on Monday. He said he’s innocent of the charges he’s accused of and said he cared for Duckett and was trying to keep her in her home.
Wayland said he hopes to speak more freely after his trial which is scheduled for February.
Clayton has started a GoFundMe for his mother.