In the spring of 2020, CEO of Fort Myers roofing, Casey Crowther was among the first to be granted a PPP loan from the federal government in a bid to cover any potential losses that his company, Target Roofing, might face due to the then looming pandemic.
The fund was strictly intended for regulatory business expenses such as payroll and utilities.
Nonetheless, Crowther had other plans for the funds. Within a week, he had wired around $700,000 to a boat dealership in Sarasota and purchased a 40′ catamaran. His actions did not go unnoticed by federal prosecutors and became a major factor in his $1 million trial ending him up in prison, as narrated by his lawyer.
Thus, Crowther surrendered himself for 382 days at the Federal Prison Camp in Montgomery, Alabama. On August 22, 2022, Crowther was released and reunited with his 3-year-old daughter.
Crowther has since resumed his role as the CEO of the company he founded ten years ago. At its zenith, the company had 300 employees and an annual revenue of about $30 million. Currently, it is managing with 90 employees; Crowther chose not to disclose the present revenue figures.
At this point, Crowther is frequently asked to share his experience in prison.
Though the curiosity has somewhat faded since he has been out for almost 18 months. Crowther, who is now 38, has answered this question countless times.
In a rare one-on-one interview, Crowther broached numerous subjects in addition to his imprisonment. The topics ranged from his family and marketing strategies, his love for psychology books over self-help ones, and how he got convicted of bank fraud, making a false statement to a lending institution, and two counts of money laundering by a federal jury in Fort Myers.
Crowther acknowledges that the trial did not go in his favor despite spending $1 million from his savings on his defense. He believes it’s time to take responsibility for his actions.
He described his prison life as “plain, terrible, and awful”. FPC Montgomery is a minimum-security prison where inmates from various backgrounds including white collar criminals and drug dealers are detained. “It wasn’t like the movies,” he says.
Clad in blue jeans, brown work boots, and a green long sleeve Nike T-shirt, Crowther refrained from discussing the details of the case during the interview. He asserted multiple times that he is aware of his mistake and is willing to take responsibility for it. Post-interview, Crowther confirmed through a text message that talking about his case or his defense strategy is not the right way to manage adversity.
Crowther is on probation and is required to routinely check in with his probation officer and he has begun paying fines and restitution in the case. When questioned about the total amount, he simply responded, “it’s some large numbers.”
Honor among the convicted
Other highlights of the interview include:
Family first: Crowther’s thoughts in prison mainly centered around his wife Margo and their three children: two daughters, 4 and 11 years old, and a 13-year-old son. Reserved, yet joyful, Crowther delighted in the fact that his children are studying at the same elementary school he once attended. “We basically spent all day talking about when we get to see our families again…” he said.
Retrospection: One of the things that haunted Crowther most was the guilt he felt for hurting his family, friends, and the staff of Target Roofing. “In hindsight, I wish I wouldn’t have made some decisions…” he stated.
“You don’t want to make mistakes, but how else do you learn?”
Prison culture: Crowther quickly adjusted to prison life. He candidly shared some unwritten rules of prison life in a public blog post on his second day there. Garbage cans, for instance, served both as trash bins and makeshift refrigerators.
Literary finds: Crowther humorously mentions finding a book titled “Honor Thy Thug” in the prison library.
A prison epiphany: Though there was no major prison revelation, Crowther gained a clearer understanding of what he had lost. He said, “The biggest thing I took from it, what I’m very grateful for, is you really have to know what you need and what you want in life.”
Visiting Hours: No visitors were initially allowed due to the COVID-19 pandemic which made the joy of the first family visit, six months later, truly special. Crowther particularly recalls a video made by his relative where he can be seen hugging his youngest daughter for the first time. “The amount of love I felt from that hug—I knew at the time that was something I wanted to keep the memory of…” he reminisces.
Unfair Circumstances
Preparation: Crowther expressed that the time between his conviction and the beginning of his prison sentence was even more difficult than the time he spent in prison. It was due to having to face the individuals he had disappointed daily. There were incidents when some Target Roofing employees questioned if the company would be better off without him. After an open online chat, they relented.
Fort Myers-based Target Roofing handles both large-scale residential and commercial projects.
Courtesy image
A challenge to prove himself: Keeping that experience in mind, Crowther now views his life goal, apart from his family, as re-establishing trust much like when he was just starting. He stated, “You have to get up in the morning and you have to do it… I get that this is on me and it’s my job to show people who I am.”
Peaceful and Content: Crowther confesses that he derives pleasure from starting his workdays with the field crews. He offers guidance to the estimators and other departments. He adds, “My family is super important to me… If I’m providing for people in this company, and watching them grow, those are things that I can go to sleep at night (with) and wake up content.”