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The first Mainer charged with defrauding a COVID-19 relief program was arrested Thursday for violating conditions of his supervised release after being freed from federal custody less than two months ago.
Nathan 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 payroll information for his business in July 2022.
U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker sentenced Reardon to 20 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release 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.”
A special condition of Reardon’s release also barred him from working for himself or starting any new business. While he was ordered to work upon his July 7 release from federal custody, he can only work for a “disinterested third party.”
But a Bangor Daily News investigation found that Reardon had not followed the judge’s orders and continued operating companies he wasn’t supposed to.
In a motion filed in federal court Aug. 16 to revoke his supervised release, probation officer Mitchell Oswald said Reardon violated multiple conditions of his release. The motion was sealed until his arrest on Thursday.
Specifically, Oswald said in his petition that Reardon did not accurately report to his probation officer all of his financial information, continued operating businesses he formed despite court order prohibiting from working for himself or any blood relatives, and was found with multiple firearms in violation of another release condition.
He is due in court Thursday afternoon for a hearing related to the revocation.
