U.S. v. James Wessels

Case summary

The United States charged James Wessels by criminal complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, No. 1:23-mj-02054, with money laundering conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. 1956(h) from about June 2021 through September 2021, over PPP and EIDL loans. The complaint, sworn July 12, 2023 (Entry 1) by FDIC-OIG Special Agent James Greczek before Magistrate Judge Ann Marie Donio, alleges that Eric Rivera, Lisa Smith, Adrienne Ponzo, Wessels and others obtained PPP and EIDL loans with false employee and payroll figures, that Wessels prepared forged tax returns and fraudulent payroll documents, that loan proceeds were paid by check to associates posing as employees who returned most of the cash, and that forgiveness applications falsely reported payroll spending. The page also carries the Rule 5(f) order of July 18, 2023 (Entry 6); the minute entry of the same day's initial appearance, at which Mark Catanzaro was appointed counsel and bail set at $100,000 unsecured (Entry 11); a consent protective order of August 2, 2023 (Entry 12); and an order of October 12, 2023 (Entry 13) continuing the matter through January 2, 2024 so the parties could try to resolve the case before indictment. These are allegations. The hosted docket ends with that October 12, 2023 order; no charging document after the complaint is in the archive.