FBI seizes vehicles of Topeka businessman and Salina Speedway promoter, alleging PPP fraud

Jason Alatidd, Topeka Capital-Journal
·3 min read

Federal authorities have seized property from a Topeka businessman and Salina Speedway promoter, alleging he and another man defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program.

"I have probable cause to believe that Tommy D. Hendrickson and Bill R. Nissen, personally and through both SSW Promotions and OMS, created and implemented a scheme to defraud the United States Government and SBA of approximately $237,897," a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent wrote in an affidavit.

The Topeka FBI agent alleges the men's actions amounted to federal crimes of wire fraud and money laundering, though neither Hendrickson nor Nissen have been publicly charged with crimes.

Hendrickson referred questions to attorney Chris Joseph, of law firm Joseph, Hollander and Craft. Joseph confirmed he represents Hendrickson but otherwise declined to comment.

Nissen declined to comment, citing the advice of his attorney, whom he declined to name.

FBI ties Topeka businesses to PPP fraud allegations

The allegations came out through a civil asset forfeiture case filed Aug. 9 in U.S. District Court in Wichita. The government is seeking forfeiture of a John Deere 770CH road grader and a Polaris utility vehicle.

The vehicles were seized in Salina by the FBI on June 26.

Federal attorneys have filed civil asset forfeiture proceedings involving SSW Promotions and Offender Monitoring Services, seen here at 405 S.E. 10th Ave. in Topeka.
Federal attorneys have filed civil asset forfeiture proceedings involving SSW Promotions and Offender Monitoring Services, seen here at 405 S.E. 10th Ave. in Topeka.

Hendrickson can file a claim to the property.

The FBI alleges that Hendrickson, Nissen, SSW Promotions and Offender Monitoring Services defrauded the U.S. Small Business Administration of about $238,000 through the Paycheck Protection Program. SSW Promotions is owned by Hendrickson and operates the Salina Speedway, while Hendrickson and Nissen both had an ownership interest in bail bond company Offender Monitoring Services.

Kansas Secretary of State's Office records show SSW Promotions LLC was registered by Hendrickson at his home address in Topeka, though the status is listed as forfeited due to failure to timely file an annual report.

Offender Monitoring Services LLC was registered in a downtown Topeka office by Nissen after previously being registered by Hendrickson at the same address. Both men failed to timely file their annual reports, leading to forfeiture.

The Paycheck Protection Program was established by the federal government in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic to help qualifying businesses meet payroll and other expenses. The taxpayer-funded loans would later be forgiven by the government.

PPP records show SSW Promotions, of 2841 S. Burma Road in Salina, got a loan of $93,356 to help cover payroll of 11 jobs at the racetrack. The loan was later forgiven. Offender Monitoring Services got a PPP loan of $144,541 to help cover payroll of 14 jobs. Its loan was also forgiven.

But the FBI affidavit indicates the businessman lied on their PPP application, those jobs never existed and that bank records were falsified for Offender Monitoring Services.

FBI alleges businessmen lied on PPP applications

A visual aid used by federal prosecutors to describe Paycheck Protection Program fraud, one of the many schemes targeting taxpayer-funded coronavirus pandemic relief.
A visual aid used by federal prosecutors to describe Paycheck Protection Program fraud, one of the many schemes targeting taxpayer-funded coronavirus pandemic relief.

When Hendrickson applied for a PPP loan for SSW Promotions on Jan. 18, 2021, he said he had 11 employees and provided payroll data. The problem, the FBI agent said, is the Kansas Department of Labor has no record of any wages for any employees of SSW Promotions for the relevant time period, and the company wasn't registered with KDOL.

Nissen applied for a PPP loan for Offender Monitoring Services on Feb. 8, 2021. He said he had 14 employees and provided payroll data supported by a February 2020 bank statement showing direct deposits to 14 people and a balance of about $532,000.

When the FBI got a copy of the bank statement from the Topeka bank, they found zero direct deposits and the account balance was actually about $850. Additionally, Offender Monitoring Services wasn't registered with KDOL and hasn't reported any wages for the relevant time period.

The FBI claims a portion of SSW Promotions' PPP loan proceeds were used by Hendrickson to buy the roughly $48,000 motor grader from an equipment supplier in Park City. They also claim a portion of Offender Monitoring Services' PPP loan proceeds were used by Hendrickson to buy the roughly $19,000 Polaris from a motorsports dealer in Olathe.

Jason Alatidd is a statehouse reporter for the Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jtidd@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jason_Alatidd.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: FBI accuses Kansas businesses of PPP fraud in asset forfeiture case