Former Rapids Theatre owner pleads guilty to wire and bank fraud

Yahoo

21-03-2025

BUFFALO — The former owner of the Rapids Theatre has pleaded guilty to defrauding the federal government out of more than $1.8 million in Covid relief program funds.
In a plea deal with federal prosecutors, Lewiston businessman John Hutchins pleaded guilty Thursday afternoon to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Buffalo. Hutchins, 71, faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Hutchins and his co-defendant and business associate Roberto Soliman had been scheduled to stand trial in the fraud and conspiracy case in early January, but those proceedings were postponed after prosecutors filed a superseding indictment in the case in September.
Shortly after the trial was delayed in early January, the presiding judge in the case, District Court Judge John Sinatra, recused himself from the proceedings. He was replaced by District Court Judge Meredith Vacca who further delayed and rescheduled a number of pre-trial hearings in the case.
On March 12, a filing with the federal court clerk indicated that a hearing on a plea agreement for Hutchins would be held Thursday. Charges against Soliman remain pending.
The superseding indictment, filed in September, accused Hutchins and Soliman, 40, of the Falls, of stealing an additional $1 million from a pandemic relief grant program. The pair were accused of additional counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud and committing wire fraud and bank fraud.
Hutchins remained charged with making a false statement to the FBI and Soliman remained charged with engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property (money laundering).
Both Hutchins and Soliman pleaded not guilty to the charges. They have been free on conditions since their indictment.
The superseding indictment added charges that accused Hutchins and Soliman of filing fraudulent applications for the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) program. The grants available under that program were designed to provide emergency financial assistance as part of the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits and Venuses Act (Economic Aid Act).
According to the indictment, 'the purpose of the SVOG program was to support the ongoing operations of eligible live-event venues (like the Rapids Theatre) and operators affected by the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.' Eligible applicants could qualify for grants equal to 45% of their gross earned revenue.
Grants were capped at no more than $10 million. SVOG funds could be used for specific expenses, including payroll, rent and utilities.
In the original indictment, Hutchins and Soliman, the former chief financial officer of Hutchins' companies, were accused of defrauding two Covid-related loan programs out of more than $750,000. They were indicted on those charges in March 2022.
Prosecutors charge that Hutchins and Soliman applied for the SVOG grant in April 2021, at a time when they knew they were being investigated by the FBI for ripping off the loan programs. The prosecutors charged Hutchins and Soliman used an unindicted co-conspirator, identified in court papers only as the Rapids Theatre vice president, to hide their involvement in the grant application.
Federal officials with the U.S. Small Business Administration ultimately authorized a pair of grants, totaling roughly $1 million, to be awarded to the Rapids. When the SBA sought an accounting of the grant funds, Hutchins sent them a letter saying he never authorized the grant application.
Federal prosecutors accused Hutchins and Soliman, in their original indictment, of filing fraudulent loan applications under both the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Those loans were designed to provide emergency financial assistance as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Hutchins and Soliman applied for loans for the Rapids Theatre, Bear Creek Entertainment LLC, a resort and conference center, Hutch Enterprises LLC, the Hutchins Agency LLC and CWE Entertainment, Corp. CWE is owned and controlled by Soliman, while the other businesses are owned by Hutchins.
Between March and August 2020, prosecutors said Hutchins and Soliman received four Economic Injury Disaster Loans totaling $749,500.00. The indictment against them charges that Hutchins and Soliman submitted false revenue and expense figures for the businesses to support their loan applications.
Federal investigators with the FBI and IRS said Hutchins and Soliman used the loan proceeds, not for their businesses but for their own personal expenses. Hutchins is accused of making payments on residential properties in North Tonawanda and Lewiston, on a 2020 BMW and a 2020 Cadillac, as well as paying homeowner association fees on a Florida condominium.
Hutchins and Soliman also applied for and received a Paycheck Protection Program loan totaling $74,838.
In November 2020, Hutchins was accused of making false statements to FBI special agents and to an investigator in the U.S. Attorney's Office. In those statements, Hutchins reportedly denied applying for, or authorizing anyone to apply for, any Economic Injury Disaster Loans or Paycheck Protection Program loans.
The businessman later claimed that he may have made or authorized a PPP loan application for the Rapids Theatre. Federal investigators claim that Hutchins used Soliman, who was, at that time, the chief financial officer for the Rapids Theatre, to launder the loan money to pay personal expenses.