A Tennessee man faces up to 90 years in prison after pleading guilty last week to four counts related to the stealing of nearly $1 million through pandemic-era support programs.

John Paul Dillon, of Franklin, pleaded guilty to bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering connected to his submission of fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s Office of the Inspector General said Thursday.

In effort to obtain PPP and EIDL support, Dillon claimed he and others earned hundreds of thousands of dollars from a ride-share business, and also claimed he operated a company that paid more than $500,000 in wages to employees.

Those claims were false, according to the Justice Department.

Dillon pleaded guilty to another count of bank fraud because a loan application he submitted to finance a $470,000 mortgage included a fake bank statement.

Now, Dillon must forfeit his residence, two new automobiles and a pontoon boat; and he could be fined up to $2.5 million, according to the FDIC’s OIG.

His sentencing is set for March 4, 2024.

The Small Business Administration’s OIG, the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and the FBI assisted in the investigation. At least 17% of $1.2 trillion disbursed through the PPP and EIDL programs may have gone to questionable recipients, the SBA’s OIG said in June.

“In the rush to swiftly disburse COVID-19 EIDL and PPP funds, SBA calibrated its internal controls. The agency weakened or removed the controls necessary to prevent fraudsters from easily gaining access to these programs and provide assurance that only eligible entities received funds,” the watchdog said in its report. “However, the allure of ‘easy money’ in this pay and chase environment attracted an overwhelming number of fraudsters to the programs.”

Dillon ran as a Republican candidate for a spot on the Williamson County Commission in 2022.