John Hutchins, the owner, and Roberto Soliman, the CFO, were charged with multiple counts of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and other charges.

The indictment further clouds the future of the Rapids Theatre, a 1,750-seat concert venue Hutchins bought at a tax auction that has hosted performers ranging from Blondie to Stone Temple Pilots to Snoop Dogg.

The Buffalo News first reported in October that Hutchins and Soliman were under investigation in connection with the U.S. Small Business Administration's Covid-19 relief loans. 

In May of 2021, the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a court document indicating agents had seized $402,302 from the bank account of CWE Entertainment Corp., a company Soliman owned, and $1,796 from the bank account of Soliman. 

A judge in August appointed a receiver to temporarily run the concert hall as creditors tried to collect millions of dollars in judgments against Hutchins and his businesses.

Prosecutors: Loan proceeds allegedly used to buy homes, cars

Hutchins and Soliman are accused in the indictment of conspiring to fraudulently obtain Covid-19 pandemic loans through the U.S. Small Business Administration's Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program and government-backed Payroll Protection Program loans from banks.

It said they conspired to file eight fraudulent loan applications for businesses owned by Hutchins and Soliman, obtaining $749,500 by lying about the revenue and expenses of the businesses. 

Attorney Rodney Personius, who represents Soliman, said that his client made a good faith effort to comply with the loan application requirements, but said the pandemic's impact and the frequently changing guidance from the Small Business Administration made that challenging.  

“The companies that filed these applications were in fact entitled, based on accurate figures, to the loans they received. That’s what we believe,” Personius said.

Paul J. Cambria, an attorney representing Hutchins, told The News in October that Hutchins "denies any fraudulent activity." He added that Hutchins and his businesses are "victims of Covid-19 like everyone else."

The grand jury alleged the two defendants used the loan proceeds to make payments on homes in Lewiston and North Tonawanda, to buy a 2020 BMW and a 2020 Cadillac, to pay overdue fees on Hutchins' condo in Florida, and to pay relatives, according to the indictment.

Personius said that the car Soliman purchased was for business purposes. He said loan proceeds were used by Soliman to buy his North Tonawanda home, but he said that was permitted because the Rapids Theatre had owed Soliman salary for his work.  

Soliman was accused in the indictment of lying on a $74,838 Payroll Protection Program loan application for CWE Entertainment, submitting to a bank phony payroll and board records for the company.

The grand jury also charged Hutchins with making a false statement to the FBI and charged Soliman with multiple counts of engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived property. 

The federal government is seeking to forfeit $749,500 from the two men as part of the case; any property involved in the conspiracy; and $197,533 that it alleged Soliman laundered.

Theater faces lawsuits

The federal investigation and seizures are among a host of problems facing Hutchins, a Lewiston resident.

He and his companies face more than 20 lawsuits and judgments totaling more than $4 million, according to court records examined by The News.

In a sworn court statement and a deposition, Hutchins said he faces millions of dollars in debts from failed business ventures.

At the deposition, Hutchins blamed his financial problems on debilitating illnesses, employees he accused of stealing from him and finance companies that lent him money at high interest rates.

A Hutchins company that owns the building where the Rapids Theatre is located owes $1.5 million on the mortgage, and the property is assessed at less than a third of that, Hutchins testified at the July 10, 2020, deposition.