Tracy Hardy, a 52-year-old resident of Philadelphia, has pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false claim upon the United States. The plea was entered before United States District Judge Harvey Bartle III, according to an announcement from United States Attorney David Metcalf.
Hardy admitted to participating in two separate schemes. The first involved defrauding the Small Business Administration (SBA) and multiple SBA-approved lenders that were part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. These programs were created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted in March 2020 to support businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
From May 2020 to May 2022, Hardy worked with another individual to submit fraudulent loan applications for his businesses—Lou & Choo Enterprises, Inc., Hardy & Hardy Holdings, LLC, and Monroe Press, Inc. He provided background and financial information that was then used to inflate figures on loan applications and create false supporting documents. This resulted in obtaining over $2 million in relief funds through misrepresentations about employee wages, business revenues, company ownership, intended use of funds, as well as submitting falsified tax documents and payroll summaries.
In addition to pandemic relief fraud, Hardy also engaged in a scheme targeting District 1199C—a local chapter of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees—in early 2019. At that time, District 1199C sought bids for renovating its union hall’s bar area. Hardy submitted an initial bid through Manayunk Construction & Development Corporation (“Manayunk Construction”), where he was co-owner.
Subsequently, he sent a second inflated bid from Manayunk Construction along with two additional fabricated bids purportedly from independent companies but actually created by Hardy himself. The new bid from Manayunk Construction was increased by at least $45,000 compared to the original proposal. In March 2019, based on these submissions showing Manayunk Construction as the lowest bidder among three options—all prepared by Hardy—the Executive Board awarded the contract to his company for $139,790. The project was completed with payments exceeding $150,000—an amount including at least $45,000 obtained fraudulently.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation with assistance from the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Assistant United States Attorney Louis D. Lappen is prosecuting the case.
“United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Tracy Hardy, 52, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty before United States District Judge Harvey Bartle III on Thursday on four counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false claim upon the United States.”
