BUFFALO — The former chief financial officer of the shuttered Rapids Theatre has pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a scheme to defraud the federal government out of more than $1.8 million in COVID-19 relief funding.
Roberto Soliman, 43, of the Falls, entered his plea to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud during a hearing Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Buffalo before Judge Meredith Vacca. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
The plea was the result of a deal between Soliman and federal prosecutors. It follows a March plea agreement between U.S. attorneys and Soliman’s co-defendant, John Hutchins, the former owner of the Rapids Theatre and other businesses.
Hutchins, 71, of Lewiston, also pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank and faces a maximum possible sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
Hutchins and Soliman had been scheduled to stand trial in their 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 Vacca, who further delayed pre-trial proceedings in the case.
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 also 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 have pleaded not guilty to the charges. They have been free on conditions since their original indictment in March 2022.
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).
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.