Tammy Lynn Hawk, Ponzi Scheme, Tennessee 2021

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Bristol Realtor Pleads Guilty in $1 Million Ponzi Scheme

Bristol, TN – In a shocking turn of events, Tammy Lynn Hawk, a 47-year-old realtor from Bristol, Tennessee, has pleaded guilty to running a massive Ponzi scheme that swindled numerous customers out of over $1 million.

According to court documents, Hawk used her position as a realtor to convince customers that they were making real estate investments. However, in reality, she was taking money from new investors to fund her own lifestyle or repay existing investors.

As part of her scheme, Hawk would falsely tell customers about parcels of real estate that she could arrange for them to purchase and ‘flip’ for substantial gains. She would advise customers to provide her with cash, claiming that a Florida real estate investment company would purchase the property and then convey it to the customer. However, neither Hawk nor the Florida company had any ownership in the properties Hawk was offering to sell.

Hawk’s scheme caused losses to 24 victims, with a total loss exceeding $1 million. She also failed to pay income tax on the money she was obtaining from her fraud, leaving unpaid income taxes of more than $100,000. In 2019, Hawk filed for bankruptcy, but she failed to list her accurate income or all the people she had swindled.

The investigation into Hawk’s scheme was conducted by the United States Secret Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations, the Bristol Police Department, and the Office of the District Attorney General for Tennessee’s Second Judicial District.

Hawk faces an agreed sentence of 10 years in federal prison, plus up to $1.25 million in fines, and supervised release of three years. Sentencing has been set for April 23, 2021, at 10:00 a.m., before District Judge Corker, in United States District Court at Greeneville.

Assistant United States Attorneys Mac D. Heavener and Todd Martin represented the United States in this case. Hawk waived indictment by a federal grand jury and agreed to plead guilty to an information charging her with wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, money laundering, and filing a false tax return.