USA v. Thomas — U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee

Case summary

Chad Brandon Thomas was charged by an information filed July 15, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, No. 2:22-cr-00076, with one count of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, with forfeiture allegations. The information describes the Paycheck Protection Program and alleges PPP loan applications containing false representations about the number of employees at three businesses. He pleaded guilty to Count One on August 8, 2022. Judgment was entered August 25, 2023, with the date of imposition August 21, 2023: 40 months' imprisonment as to count one, three years of supervised release, a $100 assessment and restitution of $145,761.99. A separate order of forfeiture entered a money judgment in the same amount.

Case at a glance

What did the information allege?

That PPP loan applications were submitted with payroll listings containing false representations about the number of employees working at the three businesses, and that loan proceeds were transferred among bank accounts he controlled; the charged execution is the electronic submission of a PPP loan application on or about July 6, 2020.

What was forfeited?

The information sought $161,938.01 in United States currency seized from Regions Bank on or about March 2, 2022, and a personal money judgment of $145,761.99. The court entered the money judgment on August 24, 2023 under 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c).

What did the plea agreement provide?

That he would waive indictment and arraignment and plead guilty to an information charging wire fraud, for which the plea agreement states the maximum statutory punishment as up to 20 years' imprisonment, a fine of not more than $250,000, up to three years of supervised release, a $100 special assessment, forfeiture and restitution.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.