Her Tacoma bakery failed in less than a year. Now she’s pleaded guilty to wire fraud
The former CEO and co-owner of the doomed Tacoma Baking Co. has admitted to using fraudulent information to obtain nearly $350,000 in Paycheck Protection Program loans.
Jessica Heinlein, who is also known as Jessica DeVisser, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in U.S. District Court in Tacoma on Thursday. The largest loan that Heinlein obtained amounted to $309,972 on behalf of the Tacoma Baking Co., according to a U.S. Department of Justice news release.
The bakery had been a years-long project that began in 2017 when it leased a building owned by a prominent Tacoma real-estate group in the evolving Hilltop neighborhood. It opened for business in January 2020, lasting short of 10 weeks as employees alleged mismanagement and pay discrepancies, including bounced checks, tip withholding and being compensated in cash.
“We made a mistake. We paid for the mistake. Where’s the limit to how much I have to pay for my mistakes?” Heinlein told The News Tribune at the time.
Attempts to reach Heinlein Thursday were not immediately successful.
By March 9, days before the COVID-19 pandemic led to business and school closures, the bakery ceased daily operations. Yet in July, reports from the U.S. Treasury Department showed that the bakery had received several hundred thousand dollars in PPP funds.
Heinlein made the first loan application on behalf of Tacoma Baking Co. in April 2020, claiming that two of the company’s eight owners were “sole owners” of the bakery, according to DOJ. She created email accounts in the two people’s names so she could correspond with financial institutions.
Heinlein forged their signatures and provided copies of their drivers’ licenses without their permission, the release said.
The loan funds were deposited into her personal bank account, and she used some of the money on personal expenses, the release said. The money also was not funneled exclusively for payroll, as required by the program. In addition to that PPP loan, the Small Business Administration paid nearly $25,000 in interest and processing fees.
During subsequent rounds of PPP funding, Heinlein tried to obtain loans twice more.
In January 2021, she applied for a loan under “Jessica DeVisser Consulting,” saying she was an independent contractor with a monthly payroll of $7,189. That information was false, according to DOJ: She was not an independent contractor and had no payroll obligation. Heinlein submitted altered financial records to support the application.
The $17,900 loan was approved, but before Heinlein could access the money, her bank froze the funds and returned them to the lender.
She then applied again for a loan under “Jessica DeVisser Consulting” in April 2021, claiming monthly payroll of $20,833. She received the full $20,833 even though the information was false. The funds were used for improper purposes, the release said.
In her plea agreement, Heinlein agreed to pay restitution to the SBA for $360,881, which is the total loan amount plus fees and interest paid by the administration.
Heinlein will be sentenced on Feb. 12, 2024. Prosecutors will recommend a sentence at the low end of the guidelines range. The judge is not bound by the recommendation and can impose any sentence up to the maximum of 20 years in prison, the release said.
Tacoma Baking Co. was appointed a court receivership in late 2020 and had been fully liquidated by Feb. 19, 2021, The News Tribune reported. According to the receiver that handled the case, with more than 50 claimants, the company carried more than $3.5 million in unsecured debt, $214,000 in secured debt, $207,000 in taxes and $102,000 of unpaid wages.
Heinlein was also one of the defendants in at least three separate lawsuits brought by investors and three of the bakery’s chefs.
This story was originally published November 17, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
