MONMOUTH COUNTY – Two former Monmouth County residents have been arrested for fraudulently taking over $3 million in federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) payments, officials said.
Jean E. Rabbitt, 51, formerly of Farmingdale, is charged by complaint with bank fraud, conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity.
Kevin Aguilar, 51, formerly of Farmingdale, is charged by complaint with conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. Both Rabbitt and Aguilar now reside in Frisco, Texas.
According to documents, “The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
When Rabbitt’s businesses received the PPP loans through the fraudulent applications, Aguilar made fake payroll companies. Rabbitt then wrote checks from his businesses to the fake payroll companies, falsely indicating on each check that the payments were for payroll, officials said.
Rabbitt and Aguilar proceeded to transfer funds from the fraud payroll companies to other companies that Aguilar created. According to authorities, the two used the funds to purchase residential properties in Sherman, Texas, and to pay for personal expenses.
In addition, Rabbitt made false statements and used fake documents in order to qualify for forgiveness of certain of the PPP loans. Rabbitt’s false certifications resulted in the SBA paying more than $2 million dollars to lenders in connection with Rabbitt’s fake PPP loans.
Each count of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. Each count of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. The conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity and engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity carry a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. The court may impose an alternate fine of not more than twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
