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 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.
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, Oswald wrote.
On Aug. 10, federal law enforcement searched Reardon’s residence and found that he was in possession of “three electronic bank transaction cards in his name,” a loaded Ruger LCP pistol wrapped in a T-shirt, a Jennings pistol in the glove box of a car parked in his driveway, and a stun gun in his closet, according to court records.
Additionally, Oswald said Reardon failed to stop representing himself as “President, Founder, CEO” of one his companies in emails despite a directive from his probation officer. Reardon also allegedly opened a new line of credit without approval from his probation officer, violating another condition.
Since Reardon’s release from federal custody and the start of his supervised release, the BDN has published two investigations into Reardon’s activities.
On July 10, the BDN published an investigation that found that despite a special condition of Reardon’s release ordering him to dissolve any and all of his companies that existed on the date of sentencing he didn’t. Instead, it was transferred to his father.
Oswald confirmed that transfer in his petition, saying Reardon “reported that the business had been transferred to his father, not dissolved.”
On Aug. 10, the BDN published a second investigation that found even before Reardon was released from federal custody he was communicating with tenants in apartments managed by the company Ultimate Property Holdings LLC. The search happened that day.
“Information obtained from multiple sources revealed that prior to his release from federal custody, and continuing until at least August 10, 2023, the defendant was representing himself and acting as landlord for his father’s rental properties, which he had been specifically prohibited from doing,” Oswald’s petition to the court said.
Reardon could face up to three years in prison for violating his conditions of release, according to Oswald’s petition to the court.
He is due in court Thursday afternoon for a hearing on the motion to revoke his supervised release.