North Carolina Construction News staff writer
The owner of a Raleigh paving company has been sentenced to federal prison after concealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets and fraudulently obtaining government pandemic relief loans during bankruptcy proceedings.
Tracey Dixon Perry, 51, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II to 16 months in federal prison, followed by 12 months of home confinement and two years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $425,146 in restitution.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Perry owned and operated Dixon Paving Inc., an asphalt milling and paving contractor based in Raleigh.
On Feb. 14, 2020, Perry filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on behalf of the company. Although the bankruptcy court allowed Dixon Paving to continue operating as a debtor in possession, it required all company revenue to be deposited into court-approved debtor-in-possession bank accounts.
Prosecutors said Perry instead established secret bank accounts to conceal company assets. Four days before filing for bankruptcy, she directed the opening of an undisclosed account for an affiliated company, Dixon Contracting LLC, and later opened a second hidden account for Dixon Paving.
Investigators found that Perry deposited company payments into the undisclosed accounts and omitted the accounts from bankruptcy filings signed under penalty of perjury. She also falsely reported in monthly operating statements that all company income had been deposited into the required debtor-in-possession accounts.
While the bankruptcy case was ongoing, Perry also obtained a $183,500 Paycheck Protection Program loan by falsely stating on the application that the company was not involved in an active bankruptcy, prosecutors said. She later concealed both the PPP loan and an additional Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the bankruptcy court by submitting false operating reports and failing to seek required court approval.
U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle said Perry deliberately exploited a system designed to help businesses facing financial hardship.
“This individual meticulously and purposefully hid her greedy milking from the U.S. government,” Boyle said in a statement. “She pocketed hundreds of thousands of ill-gotten dollars, exploiting a system that exists to help relieve companies in times of economic need.”
The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Office of the U.S. Bankruptcy Administrator for the Eastern District of North Carolina.