The victims of mortgage scammer Wesley Snyder, seated on one side of the courtroom here, smiled slightly with satisfaction.
On the opposite side, his family broke into tears.
When a federal judge Wednesday sentenced Snyder to 12 years and two months in prison, his victims got the long-awaited sense that justice had been served.
They had feared that U.S. District Chief Judge Yvette Kane would be persuaded to be lenient based on the 72-year-old mortgage broker's age, bad heart and apology.
"She read him exactly right. She saw through his superficial remorse," said Irene Anderson of Landisville, one of nearly 50 victims who filled the eighth-floor courtroom.
"I'm extremely happy," added her husband, Richard, who was among the nine Snyder victims to testify how the scam devastated their lives, in hopes of blocking his bid for a break.
Snyder, a Berks County mortgage broker, had pleaded guilty last November to cheating more than 800 borrowers and investors out of $29.3 million.
Snyder's firms had collapsed two months earlier, disclosing a scam in which he kept payments meant for lenders and secretly stuck his borrowers with much costlier loans.
Federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence between 121 and 151 months, or approximately 10 years and 12½ years.
Kane chose 146 months, or five months under the upper limit, saying she was skeptical of Snyder's apology and noting the "staggering" scope and "tragic impact" of the offense.
Snyder had told Kane he had used "very, very poor judgment" in running his mortgage businesses. "I'm so sorry. I sincerely apologize."
"His statement of remorse is hardly that...," said Kane. "I would rather have heard him say, 'I did wrong.' "
Kane acknowledged that Snyder had been cooperative with investigators and had pleaded guilty.
But Kane felt a stiff sentence was needed to "promote respect for the law," send a significant deterrent and provide a just punishment.
With good behavior behind bars, Snyder can shave about a year-and-a-half off of his sentence, said federal prosecutor Kim Daniel. So, at the minimum, Snyder is facing more than 10 years in prison.
"The American justice system did its duty," said Mrs. Anderson.
Heather Keens of Narvon, another Snyder victim who testified Wednesday, also scoffed at Snyder's tearful apology in court.
"He's sorry because he got caught...," said Keens. "He had the audacity to cry on the (witness) stand. He wasn't crying when he took my money."
Keens called the penalty imposed on Snyder "a just sentence for a white-collar crime like this."
Lancaster resident Norman Johanson, who told the judge how Snyder's scam had turned his life into turmoil, termed the sentence "fair, based on the guidelines the judge had to use.
"I believe Mr. Snyder deserved a longer sentence. I hope it's hard time," added Johanson.
Snyder attorney Kurt Geishauser defended his client's sincerity, saying he "respectfully disagrees" with the judge's portrayal.
"He lives with that remorse every day and will for the rest of his life," said the attorney.
However, the victims' doubts were fueled by the fact that none had received the letter of apology which Snyder told the court last week he had sent them.
Snyder's 800-plus victims spanned 19 Pennsylvania counties, according to Daniel.
Within Lancaster County, said Daniel, 62 lived in Lancaster, 36 in Lititz, 26 in Manheim and 21 in the Ephrata area.
A Lancaster County woman, who invested with Snyder in the belief she was funding mortgages for others, was among the biggest victims, losing half of her life savings — $468,000. One victim lost just $133.
Daniel said 159 people lost at least $50,000. Twenty-three of them lost more than $100,000.
Snyder's crime had a "devastating impact," said Daniel, affecting not only the people who lost money directly but their relatives and communities, too.
Besides the financial damage, people also suffered significant psychological and emotional trauma from the crime, said the prosecutor.
The total number of people affected is four times the 800 victims who lost money directly, estimated Daniel.
Staff writer Tim Mekeel can be reached at tmekeel@LNPnews.com or 481-6030.
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