Chattanooga Pastor Sentenced To 30 Months For Wire Fraud And Tax Fraud In COVID-19 Employment Fraud Scheme

Summary

A press release from USAO - Tennessee, Eastern published 2026-01-08, "Chattanooga Pastor Sentenced To 30 Months For Wire Fraud And Tax Fraud Charges In $1.8 Million COVID-19 Employment Fraud Scheme". It announces that on January 8, 2026, the Honorable Charles E. Atchley, Jr. sentenced Ricky Lee Taylor, Jr., 36, to 30 months in prison and three years of supervised release, with a money judgment of $942,238.85 and $2,532,528.18 in restitution. The release states that under the plea agreement Taylor pleaded guilty to one count of Wire Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and one count of Tax Fraud in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7206(1). It states that Taylor submitted eight fraudulent PPP applications for businesses including Potter's Wheel Trucking, LLC and Arena of Praise, receiving approximately $1,800,000, and filed personal tax returns that did not account for the PPP income.

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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On January 8, 2026, Ricky Lee Taylor, Jr., 36, currently of Chattanooga, TN, was sentenced by the Honorable Charles E. Atchley, Jr., United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Taylor agreed to plead guilty to an information charging him with one count of Wire Fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and one count of Tax Fraud in violation of 26 U.S.C. 7206(1).  Taylor was sentenced to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.  The Court ordered that Taylor pay a money judgment of $942,238.85 and $2,532,528.18 in restitution to the United States.
Taylor, a former University of Tennessee at Chattanooga basketball player, now a preacher and entrepreneur, ran several businesses to include Potter’s Wheel Trucking, LLC; Ricky Taylor Basketball, LLC; Arena of Praise; Spirit Logistics, LLC; and Reap Real Estate and Property.  Taylor applied for Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans on behalf of these entities and in so doing provided fraudulent documentation in support of the loans.  In total, Taylor submitted eight fraudulent applications and received approximately $1,800,000 in loans, which significantly exceeded any amount to which he would have been legally entitled.  Taylor then filed fraudulent, personal tax returns that did not account for the income from the PPP loans.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee, Resident Agent in Charge, Adam Lander of the United States Secret Service, and Special Agent in Charge, Donald “Trey” Eakins, IRS Criminal Investigations (“IRS CI”) made the announcement.
The criminal information was the result of a joint investigation in Chattanooga, TN by the United States Secret Service and the Criminal Investigation Division of the IRS.
Assistant United States Attorney Christopher D. Poole represented the United States.
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