A man who was charged in federal court last month after allegedly lying to obtain a $60,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan is preparing to open a taco restaurant in Maine, the Bangor Daily News reported. Nathan Reardon registered the Taco Shack LLC name with the Maine secretary of state’s office on March 3, about five weeks before he was charged in U.S. District Court in Bangor with bank fraud and attempted wire fraud in a national emergency on April 8. A week later, on April 15, Reardon filed for chapter 13 bankruptcy in U.S. District Court in Maine, listing more than $280,000 in claims from more than 100 creditors. Many of them are owed wages from Reardon’s business ventures, but they also include the federal government and the states of Maine and Florida, which are owed more than $36,000 in taxes, according to Reardon’s 129-page bankruptcy filing. Reardon, who owns multiple businesses in both Maine and Florida, allegedly lied about his business’ payroll to get a $60,000 loan from the Paycheck Protection Program, and attempted to obtain additional federal funds fraudulently, in April and May of 2020. Reardon allegedly used the PPP money to pay his lawyer and a local veterinarian, make donations to a Florida church and shop online. His purchases included a men’s 14-carat yellow gold wedding band, clothing, shaving products, toys, an LED barber pole light and a pair of caiman skin cowboy boots, a federal agent’s court affidavit said. Reardon also allegedly withdrew more than $10,000 of the loan in cash. In addition, he tried to get an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the Small Business Administration using the same false information about his business expenses, according to the affidavit filed in federal court in April.
