A former Rhea County executive who pleaded guilty to wire fraud stemming from his use of pandemic stimulus funds to invest in cryptocurrency was sentenced Thursday to 33 months in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee in Knoxville.
George Thacker, 59, of Spring City, was ordered to pay $665,600 in restitution and a $15,000 fine. He will be on supervised release for three years following his release from prison.
As the owner of locally-based Thacker Corp., Thacker pleaded guilty in April to obtaining two Paycheck Protection Program loans through the Small Business Administration and an Economic Injury Disaster Loan, together totaling $665,600, according to court records. He also resigned from his post in the same month.
Between May 2020 and February 2021, while he served as the elected executive for Rhea County, Thacker submitted three separate fraudulent applications for the relief funds, a news release from the prosecutors stated. During the application process, he falsely certified that he would use the funds to pay Thacker Corp. employees, rent and other operating expenses. Instead of using the money for its intended purpose, Thacker used the funds to line his own pockets by, among other things, purchasing cryptocurrency and funding his personal investment accounts, according to court documents.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act is a federal law designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other things, the act authorized billions of dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses through the programs Thacker misused, federal officials said in a news release. The funds from those programs were intended to ensure small businesses suffering financial hardship related to the coronavirus pandemic could continue to operate and pay expenses, including employee wages, officials said.
-- Compiled by Kim Sebring