PHILADELPHIA, PA — A Philadelphia businessman admitted Thursday to defrauding federal relief programs and a labor union through two separate schemes that netted him millions of dollars, prosecutors said.
Tracy Hardy, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III to four counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false claim against the United States, U.S. Attorney David Metcalf announced.
Federal prosecutors said Hardy used several of his companies, including Lou & Choo Enterprises, Hardy & Hardy Holdings, and Monroe Press, to fraudulently obtain more than $2 million in loans from pandemic-era programs administered by the Small Business Administration. Investigators said Hardy conspired with another individual to submit inflated revenue figures, falsified payrolls, and fake tax documents in loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program.
Court filings also detailed an earlier scheme in 2019 in which Hardy defrauded District 1199C, a union representing thousands of healthcare workers in Philadelphia. Hardy, co-owner of Manayunk Construction & Development, submitted falsified bids — including two completely fabricated proposals from non-existent companies — to win a contract to renovate the union hall’s bar area. Prosecutors said the bid process was manipulated to inflate the project’s cost by at least $45,000, which Hardy and an associate pocketed.
The FBI, assisted by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office, led the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Louis D. Lappen is prosecuting the case.
Hardy is scheduled to be sentenced at a later date.
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