A man who has worked in the Bangor region as a businessman and property manager, and was convicted of defrauding the federal government, will serve an additional nine months in prison after a federal judge ruled Friday that he violated the conditions of his release.
Nathan Reardon was arrested in August for allegedly violating the conditions of his supervised release after a Bangor Daily News investigation found that he was continuing to operate as a landlord, frequently renting out apartments in disrepair, despite explicit orders from a judge to stop. U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker ordered Reardon to be held in custody until his revocation hearing on Friday.
At the hearing, Walker sentenced him to nine months in federal prison. The judge also ordered Reardon to undergo about two years of supervision in the community after his release.
Friday’s sentencing concludes Reardon’s second criminal case in about two years. Last year he was convicted of fraud for falsifying payroll information for one of his businesses to get a $60,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan. Walker sentenced Reardon to 20 months in federal prison and three years of supervised release on Nov. 3, 2022, for those charges.
As part of that 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 release from federal custody, he could only work for a “disinterested third party.”
But a Bangor Daily News investigation found Reardon continued operating companies he wasn’t supposed to.
In a petition to revoke Reardon’s supervised release, Mitchell Oswald, his probation officer, argued Reardon did not accurately report all of his financial information, and continued operating businesses he formed despite the court order prohibiting him from working for himself or any blood relatives. He was found with multiple firearms in violation of another release condition, Oswald said.
On Aug. 10, federal law enforcement officers searched Reardon’s residence and found a loaded Ruger LCP pistol wrapped in a T-shirt in a closet of his home, a Jennings pistol in the glove box of a car parked in his driveway, and a stun gun in his bedroom closet, according to court records.
Additionally, Oswald said Reardon failed to stop representing himself as president, founder and CEO of one his companies in emails despite a directive from his probation officer to stop. Reardon also allegedly opened a new line of credit without approval from his probation officer, violating another condition.
A warrant was issued for Reardon’s arrest on Aug. 16, but he wasn’t arrested until the morning of Aug. 24 when he met with his probation officer.
At the start of the hearing Friday, Assistant U.S. District Attorney Andrew Lizotte told Walker the federal government had dropped the weapons violation. Reardon did not contest the other charges.
Specifically, Reardon did not contest the allegations that he failed to accurately report to his probation officer all of his financial information, continued operating businesses he formed despite a court order not to, incurred new lines of credit without permission and lied to his probation officer.
The federal government sought to imprison Reardon for the maximum allowable time of nine months.
“Years ago, this would have obviously been chargeable as contempt of court,” Lizotte said. “These are obvious transgressions of the court’s specific directives.”
Reardon, his wife, and his attorney, Hunter Tzovarras, all asked the judge to consider a lesser sentence. In his address to the court, Reardon asked Walker to sentence him to home confinement, so he could spend more time with his children.
“I have learned that I need to do better. I will do better if you give me another chance,” Reardon said. “I have lost almost another 60 days with my family so far. Please allow me to go home and take care of my family.”
When determining his sentence, Walker said he considered many factors, including what Reardon and his wife said. However, he remained concerned about how “cavalierly” Reardon violated his release conditions, Walker said.
“I’m so terribly confused by this dedicated resistance to comply with the court’s order,” Walker said. “It concerns me because it has the patina of irrationality. It is just simply irrational.”