United States v. Reardon, No. 22-1883 (1st Cir. 2024)

Nathan Reardon, who had been self-employed for 24 years, was found guilty of bank fraud for submitting false loan applications under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), created to help businesses during the COVID-19 crisis. Reardon used multiple businesses to submit the false applications and misappropriated the approved loan funds. He was sentenced to 20 months in prison and three years of supervised release, with the court prohibiting him from all self-employment during the supervised release period.

Reardon contested this condition, arguing it was excessively restrictive. The government proposed a compromise to reduce the severity of the ban, but the court dismissed Reardon’s objection, imposing the total ban without explaining why it was the least restrictive measure needed to protect the public, as required by the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.

The United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit concluded that, although the district court was right to impose some job restrictions, it did not sufficiently justify the need for a complete ban on self-employment. As a result, the appellate court annulled the self-employment ban and sent the case back for reconsideration of the restriction’s extent.