A federal judge has reversed his previous decision and will now let a Maine businessman convicted of defrauding the government work for himself to manage rental properties again, granting the man a reprieve halfway through his supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Lance Walker’s April 29 ruling marked the latest twist in a series of legal fights for Nathan Reardon, which began in 2020 when he lied about his business’ payroll to get a pandemic-related business loan and then spent the federal funds on personal items.
Reardon, who managed rental properties in the Bangor region and elsewhere, was the first Maine resident charged with illegally obtaining a loan from the Paycheck Protection Program. He pleaded guilty in 2022 to five counts of bank fraud, and Walker sentenced him to 20 months in prison. (Prosecutors said Reardon stole $60,000 but attempted to steal far more — $236,580 — though he never obtained the full amount.)
Reardon had held dozens of companies in his name that owed money to nearly 100 former employees, accrued $100,000 in fines for labor violations, and had code violations that led Bangor officials to condemn a section of a local mall.
After prison, as a condition of his three-year supervised release, Reardon was prohibited from being self-employed and instead required to maintain employment by a disinterested third party.
But shortly after his release in 2023, the Bangor Daily News found that he had resumed property management and landlord duties in defiance of the judge’s order. Reardon’s probation officer told the court that Reardon also was not complying with a requirement to provide truthful financial disclosures.
Walker sent Reardon back to prison to serve a nine-month sentence for his violations, to be followed by 25 months of supervised release. As part of his conditions, Reardon had to continue to not work for himself. (Reardon unsuccessfully appealed Walker’s decisions. One of Reardon’s appeals — of Walker’s denial of Reardon’s request for the judge to recuse himself — is still pending, however.)
After Reardon completed his second prison sentence and served roughly half of his most recent term of supervised release, he asked Walker in March to allow him to be self-employed once again. Reardon wrote in his court filing that it would better allow him to repay his $60,316 restitution, that he had been on release for nearly a year without any issues, and that he wanted to stabilize his financial situation for his family, including his five children and aging parents.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lizotte opposed Reardon’s request.
But this time, Walker agreed with Reardon, writing in a court order on April 29 that he wanted to lessen the burden on Reardon and allow him to increase his income.
“I also perceive that the total prohibition of self-employment has posed special difficulties for Reardon to the extent that he has historically earned income through rental properties. Despite this, Reardon has worked to comply with the requirement for roughly one year and I am persuaded that he has demonstrated personal progress in this regard,” Walker wrote.
However, the judge emphasized that Reardon can only be self-employed in the business of rental property ownership and management. He cannot open any new businesses except as necessary to reestablish himself in the rental market. What’s more, Walker ordered Reardon to continue to be employed by a disinterested third party even if he resumes self-employment.
In an email, Reardon did not answer questions about the judge’s order or his work plans, and asked to stay out of the newspaper. Media coverage had been difficult for him and his family, he wrote.
“Once time allowed to be self-employed again maybe you could write about the good things that I do and the buildings that I rehabilitate and turn into good housing,” he added.
