Scott W. Anderson, a former Ottumwa resident and co-owner of Riley Drive Entertainment, was sentenced on May 19, 2025, to 10 years in federal prison for defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Anderson, who previously owned bars and restaurants in Iowa and Kansas—including Tonic in West Des Moines and Saints Pub in Waukee—was convicted in November 2024 on 14 federal counts, including wire fraud, false statements on loan applications, and aggravated identity theft.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Anderson submitted false information on SBA loan applications in 2018 and 2019, failing to disclose that his company, Riley Drive, was involved in ongoing civil litigation at the time. The SBA approved a $3.6 million loan in March 2018 and a $700,000 loan in April 2019. Riley Drive defaulted on both loans by June 2019, resulting in a combined loss of over $2.8 million to the SBA.
In addition to the fraud charges, Anderson was found guilty of six counts of aggravated identity theft, indicating he used others’ personal information without authorization during the loan application process.
Anderson had previously gained attention in 2020 for suing Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds over COVID-19 bar shutdown orders; however, that lawsuit was dismissed in 2022.
