Tracy Hardy, a 52-year-old Philadelphia resident, pleaded guilty on Thursday 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 information presented in court, Hardy was involved in two separate fraudulent schemes. The first scheme targeted federal pandemic relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, both established under the CARES Act in March 2020. Between May 2020 and May 2022, Hardy worked with another individual to submit fraudulent loan applications using inflated financial data for his businesses: Lou & Choo Enterprises, Inc., Hardy & Hardy Holdings, LLC, and Monroe Press, Inc.
Hardy provided business information to an associate who then prepared and submitted loan applications containing exaggerated financial figures and supporting documents. This resulted in Hardy obtaining over $2 million in relief funds by misrepresenting employee wages, staff numbers, company revenues, ownership details, and intended use of PPP funds. False tax documents and payroll summaries were also used to support these applications.
The second scheme occurred from January 2019 to June 2019 and involved defrauding District 1199C—a local chapter of the National Union of Hospital and Healthcare Employees—during a bidding process for renovations at its union hall on Locust Street in Philadelphia. In addition to his other companies, Hardy co-owned Manayunk Construction & Development Corporation.
In early 2019, District 1199C sought bids for renovating its bar area. On January 30 that year, Hardy sent an initial bid from Manayunk Construction totaling $47,490. He later submitted an inflated bid from the same company along with two fabricated bids purporting to be from independent firms but actually created by him. The new Manayunk Construction bid was increased by at least $45,000 compared to the original submission.
District 1199C’s Executive Board awarded the contract based on what appeared to be the lowest bid—$139,790—from Manayunk Construction. After completing the project through his company, Hardy received more than $150,000 for work that included at least $45,000 in fraudulent inflation.
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.
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