Man hurt in stabbing sentenced for mortgage fraud
By: Freeman Klopott
Examiner Staff Writer
May 15, 2009
A 52-year-old Temple Hills man, who his lawyers say is suffering from major nerve damage after he was nearly stabbed to death in September, was sentenced to nearly three years for his role in a $4 million mortgage fraud scheme.
Wayne A. Lee pleaded guilty in February to receiving almost $400,000 in kickbacks from sellers after he filed false mortgage loan applications so he and a family member could buy seven $570,000 homes in Woodbridge. Within a year Lee defaulted on four loans, causing more than $1 million in losses to lenders when the houses fell into foreclosure.
But five months before his guilty plea, Lee was attacked in his Temple Hills home by two men he had previously paid to do small jobs around the house, his attorney, Pleasant Brodnax III, wrote in court documents filed in Alexandria’s federal court.
On Sept. 28, Lee’s neck was cut, and his face was slashed from near his eye to his mouth, Brodnax wrote. A knife was repeatedly thrust into his shoulder, severing the nerves in his arm.
The attack put Lee in the hospital for eight weeks. According to Brodnax, Lee spent half that time in a coma. Brodnax said Lee was awaiting further surgery on his arm to repair the damage and has been living with his mother because he can’t take care of himself.
Brodnax argued that Lee should serve his sentence in home confinement so he can receive the treatment he needs.
“Imprisonment will be much harsher for Mr. Lee because of his medical condition that resulted from the knife attack,” Brodnax wrote. Without specialized treatment, “a sentence of imprisonment is essentially a sentence of life for Mr. Lee as a dependent on either his family or the state for his daily needs.”
While the maximum sentence for Lee’s crimes was 30 years in prison, prosecutors argued for between two years and nine months, and three years and five months. On Friday, he was sentenced to two years and nine months.
In court documents, prosecutors said the factors lowering Lee’s sentence included “the history and characteristics of the defendant.”
But, “the public, and particularly individuals who may be disposed to commit such crimes, needs to see that those who fraudulently obtained mortgage loans are punished accordingly.”
