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Felton Hayman, 54, of Wilmington, was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and three years of supervised release for his scheme on Monday, Oct. 28, according to a US Department of Justice news release.
Hayman used his longtime friendship with an unnamed Philadelphia city councilmember to purchase three vacant city properties at below-market prices based on his promise to build affordable housing on the lots, the news release states.
Instead, Hayman planned to sell the properties as quickly as he bought them to make a profit, according to the news release. In fact, he advertised them for sale before he even held the titles.
His construction company, Hayman Construction, purchased the vacant properties at 1200 South Bucknell Street, 2040 Titan Street, and 2046 Titan Street for a total of $101,000 in late August 2018, the news release states.
Less than a month later, he sold the Titan Street properties for $115,000 each, according to the news release. Hayman entered into a separate agreement to sell the South Bucknell Street property for $150,000, but that deal fell through.
In total, Hayman profited by at least $165,000 from his fraud, with the loss to the City of Philadelphia estimated to be $149,000, the news release states.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Hayman, charging him with three counts of wire fraud in July 2023, according to the news release. He pleaded guilty to all of the charges in April.
Along with the prison time and supervised release, he was also ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, $149,000 in restitution to the city, a forfeiture of $100,000, and a $300 special assessment, the news release states.
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