When Nathan Reardon was sentenced in November to serve 20 months in federal prison for defrauding the federal government, a judge ordered him to dissolve his companies and banned him from ever working for himself again.
Just days after Reardon was released from federal custody and began his three-year stint of supervised release, however, at least one company remains. His father is now in control of it.
Reardon, 45, of Skowhegan and Plymouth, was the first Mainer charged with illegally receiving a federal loan intended to help small businesses survive the early days of the pandemic. He pleaded guilty to five counts of bank fraud for obtaining a $60,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2020 by falsifying information about payroll for his business in July 2022.
U.S. District Judge Lance Walker sentenced Reardon to 20 months in federal prison on Nov. 3, 2022. As part of his sentencing, the judge ordered Reardon to “dissolve any corporations and businesses that exist on the date of sentencing.”
In addition, a special condition of his release barred Reardon from working for himself or starting any new business. While Reardon was ordered to work upon his release from federal custody, he can only work for a “disinterested third party.”
But at least one of Reardon’s former companies, Ultimate Property Holdings LLC, remains active and still has the legal authority to do business in Maine.
Reardon’s father, Arthur Reardon, took control of the company on paper, without dissolving it, the same day Nathan Reardon was released from federal custody — Friday — according to the Florida Secretary of State’s corporations’ database.
The change in leadership came about after a Bangor Daily News reporter contacted Nathan Reardon on Friday and left a message asking why he did not dissolve the company as the judge ordered. Reardon did not respond.
His attorney, Hunter Tzovarras, could not be reached for comment on Monday.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lizotte, who led the federal criminal case against Reardon, declined to comment.
Reardon got out of prison early. Prisoners can earn time off their sentence for good behavior, and jail time served during a trial can count toward a prison sentence.
Reardon founded Ultimate Property Holdings in April 2020. While incorporated in Florida, its listed place of business is 80 Water St. in Dexter, Maine. Until Friday, Nathan Reardon was listed as the manager and registered officer for the company.
Since early June, Ultimate Property Holdings’ Facebook page has been active, posting advertisements for apartments in a complex located at 6 Main St. in Howland.
Neither Reardon owns the Howland apartment complex, but Ultimate Property Holdings serves as the landlord.
Nathan Reardon has a large portfolio of businesses that he started. Past BDN reporting revealed that some of them didn’t pay wages or taxes, and faced labor violations and code violations. Some of those code violations led Bangor officials to condemn a major section of the local mall.
Nathan Reardon was still the registered officer for more than 20 additional companies in Florida and Maine, though they were all listed as inactive, as of Monday.
Before he was arrested, Reardon presided over properties he didn’t own in at least three Maine counties at more than a dozen sites, according to business filings, code enforcement records, lawsuits and Reardon’s 2021 bankruptcy filing.
When Reardon was charged in April 2021 with fraudulently obtaining a $60,000 pandemic business loan, he agreed as a bail condition that he wouldn’t apply for any pandemic-related financial assistance without a probation officer’s approval. He was ultimately rearrested for violating that condition.
He violated it in 2022 when he received emergency rental assistance on behalf of tenants who lived in the Howland apartment building at the time, without the approval of his probation officer. That rental assistance came from more than $350 million Maine received through two federal coronavirus relief packages.
Last year, the BDN interviewed tenants who lived in the building. Those tenants showed a reporter and photographer their home, which had exposed wires that hung from the ceiling and water that leaked from an upstairs unit.
Today, there are several units available in that Howland apartment complex that were renovated in 2020 and 2021, according to the company’s Facebook posts. They describe how “some” housing vouchers — publicly funded housing assistance — are accepted.
Nelson Kramer, the code enforcement officer for Howland, said he, along with the fire chief and a state electrical inspector, recently inspected the apartment building and came away with “concerns.” Kramer declined to comment further pending town discussions about the property.
On the apartment building in Howland, a sign hangs from the top right corner. In red and black letters it reads, “FOR RENT 1, 2 & 3 BEDROOMS.” Below the text is a phone number.
When a BDN reporter called that number on Friday, a man who identified himself as “Mike” answered. He said he didn’t work for Ultimate Property Holdings but would have someone call back to answer questions. No one did.
Bangor Daily News reporter Sawyer Loftus may be reached at [email protected].
