Information — U.S. v. Thacker

Record facts

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Tennessee · No. 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS · Doc. 1 · 2022-04-14 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT & Clery,
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE Step,
at CHATTANOOGA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
No. 1:22-cr- o4

)
)
vy. ) Judge (now ies 6 Aten!) .
) Magistrate Judge CyaiShpner ~ Sta er
GEORGE THACKER ) °

FELONY INFORMATION

The United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Tennessee charges that, at all times

material to this Information, in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere:

COUNT ONE

Wire Fraud
(18 U.S.C. § 1343)

The Scheme to Defraud

1. Beginning in or about May 2020, continuing through in or about at least April 2021,
in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere, the defendant, GEORGE THACKER, with the
intent to defraud, devised and intended to devise a scheme to defraud, and to obtain money and
property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.

2. It was the purpose and object of the scheme for THACKER to unjustly enrich
himself by obtaining fraudulent proceeds via the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program and
Paycheck Protection Program under false and misleading pretenses, including by materially

misrepresenting the intended use of the loan proceeds.

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti Filed 04/14/22 Page1of9 PagelD
#:1
Paycheck Protection Program

3. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act’) was a
federal law enacted in or around March 2020 and designed to provide emergency financial
assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects by the COVID-
19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to
$349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses,
through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). In or around April
2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding. The purpose of loans
issued under the PPP was to enable small businesses suffering from the economic downturn to
continue to pay salaries or wages to their employees.

4. The PPP was administered by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), which
promulgated regulations concerning eligibility fora PPP loan. Eligible businesses seeking a loan
under the PPP could apply for such a loan through a federally insured depository institution.

5: To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business must submit a PPP loan application,
which is signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan application
requires the business (through its authorized representative) to acknowledge the program rules
and make certain affirmative certifications to be eligible to obtain the PPP loan. In the PPP loan
application, the small business (through its authorized representative) must state, among other
things, its: (a) average monthly payroll expenses; and (b) number of employees. These figures
are used to calculate the amount of money the small business is eligible to receive under the PPP.
In addition, businesses applying for a PPP loan must include documentation showing their

payroll expenses and other information as part of the application.

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti Filed 04/14/22 Page2of9 PagelD
#: 2
6. A PPP loan application must be processed by a participating lender. If a PPP loan
application is approved, the participating lender funds the PPP loan using its own monies, which
are 100% guaranteed by the SBA. Data from the application, including information about the
borrower, the total amount of the loan, and the listed number of employees, is transmitted by the
lender to the SBA in the course of processing the loan.

7. PPP loan proceeds must be used by the business on certain permissible expenses:
payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal
on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these expense
items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and uses a certain amount
of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.

8. The proceeds of a PPP loan are not permitted to be used to purchase consumer
goods, personal investments, or to fund the borrower’s ordinary day-to-day living expenses

unrelated to the specified authorized expenses.

Economic Injury Disaster Loans
9. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) program was an SBA program that
provided low-interest loans to small businesses, renters, and homeowners in regions affected by
declared disasters.
10. | The CARES Act also authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs of up to $2 million to
eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19
pandemic. In addition, the CARES Act authorized the SBA to issue advances of up to $10,000

to small businesses within three days of applying for an EIDL.

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti- Filed 04/14/22 Page3of9 PagelD
#: 3
11. In order to obtain an EIDL and advance, a qualifying business was required to
submit an application to the SBA and provide information about its operations, such as the
number of employees, gross revenue for the 12-month period preceding the disaster, and cost of
goods sold in the 12-month period preceding the disaster. In the case of EIDLs for COVID-19
relief, the 12-month period was the period preceding January 31, 2020. For a business to be
eligible for an EIDL, the business must have been in operation before February 1, 2020. The
applicant was also required to certify that all the information in the application was true and
correct to the best of the applicant’s knowledge.

12. EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA and processed by the
agency with support from a government contractor. Approval of a loan application and the
amount of a loan was based, in part, on the information provided on the application about the
number of employees, gross revenue, and cost of goods, as described above. Upon approval of
an application for an EIDL or advance, SBA will disburse the funds. EIDL loan proceeds were
permitted to be used for payroll expenses, sick leave, production costs, and business obligations,

such as debts, rent, and mortgage payments.

Manner and Means of the Scheme
13. The defendant, GEORGE THACKER, owned and operated Thacker Corporation
(“Thacker Corp.”), which is a corporation incorporated and domiciled in the State of Tennessee.
Thacker Corp. is headquartered in Rhea County, Tennessee, and THACKER is its registered agent.
Thacker Corp. operates various service and hospitality business in and around Rhea County, which

is located in the Eastern District of Tennessee.

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti_ Filed 04/14/22 Page4of9 PagelD
#:4
14. As a component of the scheme to defraud, on or about May 4, 2020, THACKER
submitted a PPP “Borrower Application Form” on behalf of Thacker Corp. to Regions Bank,
which is a financial institution headquartered in Alabama. THACKER sought a loan of $257,800.
On the application form, THACKER indicated that he was the owner and “sole proprietor” of
Thacker Corp.

15. As part of his May 4, 2020 PPP application, THACKER represented that he would
use the proceeds from the PPP loan for “payroll” and “utilities.” He also initialed next to a
paragraph that stated: “The funds [from the PPP loan] will be used to retain workers and maintain
payroll or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility payments, as specified
under the [PPP] Rule; I understand that if the funds are knowingly used for unauthorized purposes,
the federal government may hold me legally liable, such as for charges of fraud.”

16. On May 5, 2020, $257,800 in PPP loan funds were disbursed to a Regions Bank
checking account maintained under the name “Tennessee Thacker Enterprises” (the “Business
Account”).

17. On May 16, 2020, once again on behalf of Thacker Corp., THACKER applied for
a separate $150,000 loan under the EIDL program. As part of that loan application, THACKER
certified that he would “use all the proceeds of [the EIDL] Loan solely as working capital to
alleviate economic injury caused by disaster occurring in the month of January 2020 and
continuing thereafter... .”

18. On May 22, THACKER caused $150,000 in EIDL funds to be deposited into his
Business Account.

19. Despite his representations to the contrary, THACKER did not use either the PPP

or EIDL funds for business purposes. From May 2020 to July 2020, he transferred the funds out

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti Filed 04/14/22 Page5of9 PagelD
#:5
of the Business Account and into his Regions Bank personal checking account maintained under
the name “George F. Thacker” (the “Personal Account”).

20. After transferring the PPP and EIDL funds to his Personal Account, THACKER
used them for his own personal and private gain. For example, in June and July 2020, THACKER
transferred over $100,000 in PPP and EIDL funds into an E*trade account he maintained for
personal investments.

21. After misusing the proceeds from the initial EIDL and PPP loans, THACKER
applied for a second PPP loan on or about February 5, 2021. Once again, he requested and received
$257,800 in PPP loan funds. Once again, he falsely represented in his application form that the
PPP loan proceeds would be used for Thacker Corp.’s rent, utilities, and payroll costs. And once

again, THACKER used the loan funds for his own personal enrichment.

22. On February 8, 2021, $257,800 in PPP loan funds were disbursed to the Business
Account. In February and March of 2021, THACKER transferred those funds to his Personal
Account. Once the funds were in his personal account, THACKER used them for various private
and impermissible purposes.

23. For example, THACKER maintained multiple cryptocurrency “wallets” (i.e.,
software that allows a user to access his or her digital assets) through Coinbase Inc., an online
virtual currency exchange platform. . THACKER maintained these wallets (the “Crypto
Accounts”) for his own personal financial gain.

24. In February 2021 and March 2021 alone, THACKER transferred over $230,000 in
PPP and EJDL funds into his personal Crypto Accounts. He used these funds to purchase and

trade in Bitcoin, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies.

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti Filed 04/14/22 Page6of9 PagelD
#: 6
25. On or about the date set forth below, in the Eastern District of Tennessee, and

elsewhere, the defendant, GEORGE THACKER, for the purpose of executing the scheme

described above, caused to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate

commerce, the signals and sounds described below for the following count:

— Count —

Date _

‘ommunication

Count One

On or about
May 16, 2020

Wire communication originating from THACKER’s

electronic device in the Eastern District of Tennessee, to wit,
the electronic submission of an EIDL application on behalf of
Thacker Corp., to the SBA’s computer servers located outside
the state of Tennessee.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti1 Filed 04/14/22 Page 7 of9

PagelD
#:7
Forfeiture Allegations

The allegations contained in this Information are hereby realleged and incorporated by
reference for the purpose of alleging forfeitures pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section
981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461 (c).

Pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, United States
Code, Section 2461(c), upon conviction of an offense in violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Section 1343, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States of America, any property,
real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the offense. The
properties to be forfeited include, but are not limited to, the following:

CRYPTOCURRENCY:

All contents, coins, funds, and wallets associated with the Coinbase account affiliated
with User ID: 5a26b56dd82ae300ef44cd0d

MONEY JUDGMENT:

A personal money judgment for at least $665,600 in U.S. currency, which represents
the minimum amount of proceeds the defendant personally obtained as a result of an offense in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343. If any of the property subject to forfeiture, as a result of any act
or omission of a defendant,

cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

a
b. has been transferred, sold to, or deposited with a third party;
&. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the Court;
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or
€. has been commingled with other property that cannot be divided
without difficulty;
8

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti Filed 04/14/22 Page8of9 PagelD
#: 8
the United States of America shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property pursuant
to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), as incorporated by Title 18, United States

Code, Section 982(b)(1) and by Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461.

Respectfully submitted this 14th day of April, 2022.

FRANCIS M. HAMILTON III
United States Atforney

Kyle J. Wilson
Assistant United States Attorney

Case 1:22-cr-00054-CEA-CHS Documenti Filed 04/14/22 Page9o0f9 PagelD
#: 9

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.tned.104289.1.0.pdf

Size

5,275,387 bytes

SHA-256

b55893bb3ab23f8e28ce47bdd7b9c62328c4149789642c63122f3f0d47f6c40a

Our copy

gov.uscourts.tned.104289.1.0.pdf

Original

PACER (login required)