‘Bubba Fest’ organizer allegedly lied on forms to get $370,000 in coronavirus relief
An Eastern Kentucky man lied on applications for $370,000 in funding from a federal program set up to help businesses hurt by the coronavirus pandemic, a federal grand jury has charged.
The grand jury indicted David Christopher Lewis, of Harlan County, in early August but the case was sealed until recently.
Lewis faces one charge of wire fraud, for allegedly submitting paperwork that contained false information about his businesses, and two charges of tampering with documents or proceedings.
Lewis has a company called Bubba Fest LLC, which arranged events billed as “Southern Fried” Comic Cons, and another company called Elite Artists Agency LLC.
Lewis allegedly applied for loans for both companies last year through the Paycheck Protection Program. Congress approved that program to help businesses keep employees on the payroll as the coronavirus pandemic sapped the economy.
Loans through the program were forgivable if businesses kept employees on for a certain amount of time.
Lewis put false information about the payroll at the two companies in applications for a $195,000 loan to Bubba Fest and a $175,000 loan to Elite Artists Agency, the indictment charged.
Lewis received checks payable to both companies, the indictment said.
After federal authorities started investigating, Lewis allegedly tried to impede the investigation by asking a person to sign a backdated employment contract saying he worked for Bubba Fest in 2019 and made $1,200 a week.
The person, identified only by the initials C.K. in the indictment, did not work for the company in 2019, according to the indictment.
The indictment also alleged that in response to grand jury subpoenas for employment records from his companies, Lewis sent back a sworn statement saying he’d hired a tax preparer in Harlan to fill out the loan applications; that the person assured him the applications were accurate; and that the preparer had Lewis’ records and wouldn’t give them back.
The statement was false, the grand jury charged.
Each of the three charges has a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
The indictment was sealed while Lewis was not in custody in Kentucky. Police arrested him Oct. 14 in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., according to records there.
A federal magistrate judge in South Carolina ordered him held without bond to face the charges in Kentucky, saying there was a significant risk Lewis would flee if released.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kaymani West said in the order that the evidence showed Lewis knew there was a warrant out for him in Kentucky and that he intentionally left the state and didn’t plan to return of his own accord.
Lewis faces another claim in federal court in Kentucky that he didn’t pay action star Chuck Norris all he was supposed to for Norris’ participation in the 2019 Bubba Fest event in Knoxville, Tenn.
In July 2020, an arbitrator in Texas ordered Lewis to pay $31,050 under the appearance contract; attorneys’ fees of $130,489; and $11,630 in arbitration costs.
Attorneys for the production company filed a request in federal court in London to enforce the award earlier this year.
Lewis said in an interview last April that Norris’ claim had no merit, but has not formally responded to the request to enforce the judgment. The case is pending.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 1:13 PM.
