Richard J. Rosser, II, Laundering Pandemic Benefits, Virginia 2023

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - A Hampton man has been found guilty of laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars in disaster-related loan benefits made available in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic.

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, totaling $1,164,999.

Between May 2020 and May 2021, Rosser submitted false disaster-related loan applications for his business, Richard’s General Services (RGS), in Hampton. He grossly inflated the number of employees of RGS and its average monthly payroll, and 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 laundering at least $739,000 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, facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorney D. Mack Coleman is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Miller accepted the plea.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-91.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/hampton-man-pleads-guilty-laundering-739000-pandemic-benefits