HAMPTON, Va. - A Hampton man pleaded guilty Friday to laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in disaster-related loan benefits made available in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to court documents, between May 2020 and May 2021, Richard J. Rosser, II, 49, obtained disaster-related loan benefits in the form of Small Business Administration (SBA) sponsored Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
These programs, initiated and expanded under the Cares Act, were designed to provide support to small businesses for expenses related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rosser owned and operated a construction business, Richard’s General Services (RGS), in Hampton.
TRENDING: 10,000 images of child pornography found on former VB Public Schools employee's laptop: Prosecutors
He submitted false disaster-related loan applications for his business. Reports say he also grossly inflated the number of employees of RGS and its average monthly payroll.
Reports further that Rosser provided fabricated tax returns to substantiate the false representations made in the loan applications. When the loans were funded, Rosser used the funds for personal expenditures, including withdrawing, transferring to personal accounts, and writing checks to himself cumulatively.
Rosser submitted three false applications for disaster-related loan benefits. In all, Rosser obtained approximately $1,164,999 by fraud, at least $739,000 of which he laundered in transactions in excess of $10,000.
Rosser pleaded guilty to engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived proceeds and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 20, 2023. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and Darrell J. Waldon, Special Agent in Charge, Washington, D.C. Field Office, IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.
Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Mack Coleman is prosecuting the case.
