Thomas Smith

Identity and role

Thomas E. Smith, of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, was the first-named of five defendants in a PPP bank-fraud indictment in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud on February 23, 2021, and was sentenced on June 2, 2021. The Justice Department's Criminal Division Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin prosecuted the case.

Biography / career arc

The Justice Department gave his age as 46 in both its plea and sentencing releases. The indictment describes him as a Pewaukee resident and the registered agent of T & T Holdings LLC, a Wisconsin limited liability company that had been administratively dissolved on or about March 20, 2017.

The scheme and pandemic-relief role

As part of his guilty plea, Smith admitted that he sought more than $1.2 million in PPP loans through applications to one federally insured financial institution on behalf of eight companies. According to his plea agreement, the applications made false and misleading statements about the companies' payroll expenses, and the lender approved and funded more than $1 million. Smith then directed his co-conspirators to send him portions of the loan money within days of receiving it, and used it for personal expenses, he admitted.

Loan record: what the indictment describes

The grand jury indictment, filed in October 2020, alleges that from about April through July 2020 the defendants submitted PPP applications to a lender it calls Financial Institution 1 for companies that were not in operation on February 15, 2020, supported by falsified IRS Forms 941. It puts the loan proceeds obtained at about $960,000, with another $442,500 attempted. One of its money-laundering counts against Smith covers a cashier's check of about $20,000 deposited on or about May 18, 2020 into an account in the name of T&T Holdings.

Legal status / controversies

Charged: by grand jury indictment, E.D. Wis., filed October 2020, on bank fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1344) and money laundering (18 U.S.C. § 1957) counts, with four co-defendants.
Pleaded guilty: February 23, 2021, to one count of bank fraud.
Sentenced: June 2, 2021, to 57 months in prison and two years of supervised release, with $960,000 in restitution.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

Public record on this Thomas Smith after the June 2021 sentence is limited; this profile reflects the court record and DOJ releases as of September 25, 2026.