Superseding Indictment — U.S. v. Robbie Reese (S.D. Miss.)

Summary

A superseding indictment in United States v. Robbie Reese a/k/a Robbie Agee, No. 3:23-cr-00099, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, filed December 13, 2023 as Document 9. Counts 1-10, under 18 U.S.C. § 641, allege that Reese filed ten false Forms 941 for Agee Pro Transit Service, LLC and Agee Professional Tax Service, LLC and obtained more than $1,100,000.00 in Sick and Family Leave Credit funds or benefits. Counts 11-16 allege that Reese applied for three PPP loans using false and fraudulent information about purportedly active companies, inducing Members Exchange Credit Union to deposit about $146,210.00. Further counts under 18 U.S.C. § 1957 list purchases, including a $100,185.00 payment to Jackson-Empire Truck Sales. The 14-page indictment seeks forfeiture, and its signature block names United States Attorney Todd W. Gee.

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Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 1 of 14

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF MISSISSIPP]

NORTHERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT
v. Criminal No. 3:23cr99-HTW-FKB
ROBBIE REESE 18 U.S.C. § 641
a/k/a Robbie Agee 18U.S.C. § 1957
The Grand Jury Charges:

GENERAL_ALLEGATIONS

At times relevant to this Indictment:

1. On March 23, 2020, President Donald J. Trump declared the coronavirus
disease outbreak to be a national emergency, as defined in Title 42, United States Code,
Section 5122(a). Thereafter, the 116th United States Congress passed a number of laws

aimed at alleviating the economic strain occasioned by the pandemic.

2. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act),
enacted on March 27, 2020, provided in part for an Employee Retention tax Credit (ERC)
that was designed to encourage Eligible Employers to keep employees on their payroll
despite experiencing an economic hardship related to COVID-19. Eligible Employers
could claim the ERC, equal to 50% of $10,000 in qualified wages per employee (i.e.,
$5,000 per employee), on wages paid after March 12, 2020, and before January 1, 2021.

3. Eligible Employers were those businesses, including tax-exempt
organizations, with operations that were fully or partially suspended due to governmental

orders due to COVID-19 or that had a significant decline in gross receipts compared to

2019.
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 2 of 14

4. Eligible Employers could get immediate access to the ERC by reducing their
employment tax deposits or by requesting a refund on the IRS Form 941, Employer's
Quarterly Federal Tax Return.

5. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCR Act) required certain
employers to provide employees with paid sick leave (sick leave) of up to 80 hours and
expanded family and medical leave (family leave) of up to 10 weeks for specified reasons
related to COVID-19. The FFCR Act provides refundable tax credits that reimburse eligible
employers for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave (SFL Credit) wages to
employees for leave related to COVID-19.

6. Eligible Employers can reduce their share of Social Security and/or Medicare
tax deposits by the amount of their anticipated SFL credit on the IRS Form 941, Employer’s
Quarterly Federal Tax Return. The SFL wages must have been paid to employees for qualified
sick or family leave taken after March 31, 2020, and before October 1, 2021.

7. The CARES Act also provided authorization of up to $349 billion in
forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a
program referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). The PPP was
implemented by the Small Business Administration with support from the Department of
the Treasury. In or about April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional
PPP funding.

8. To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying small business was required to submit a
PPP loan application, which was signed by an authorized representative of the business, to
a participating lender. The PPP loan application required the small business applicant

(through its authorized representative) to acknowledge the program rules and make certain
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 3 of 14

affirmative certifications in order to be eligiblefor the PPP loan. In the PPP loan
application, the small business applicant (through its authorized representative) was
required to state, among other things, (a) its average monthly payroll expenses; and (b) the
number of its employees. These figures were used to calculate the loan amount the small
business is eligible to receive under the PPP. In addition, the small business applicant was
required provide supporting documentation showing its payroll expenses.

9. A small business’s PPP application was initially submitted to, and processed by,
a participating lender, then transmitted for further review to the Small Business Administration
(“SBA”) to assess the applicant’s eligibility. If the PPP loan application was approved, the
participating lender funded the PPP loan using its own funds, and the loans were guaranteed by
the SBA. Data from the application, including information about the borrower, the total
amount of the loan, and the listed number of employees, was transmitted by the lender to the
SBA in the course of processing the loan.

10. Under the terms of the PPP, small business applicants could use PPP loan
proceeds only for specified permissible expenses, which included payroll expenses, mortgage
interest payments, rent payments, and utilities expenses. The PPP allowed the interest and
principal on a PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the small business applicant spent the loan
proceeds on the specified expenses within a particular period of time and used a certain
percentage of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.

11. | When submitting an SBA PPP application, the small business applicant was
explicitly warned, and required to acknowledge, that making a false statement in the
application, and/or submitting false or fraudulent supporting documentation, is a violation of

federal law.
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 4 of 14

12. Agee Pro Transit Service, LLC (Agee Transit) was a special needs
transportation service created in Mississippi but not an Eligible Employer to receive FFCR .
Act SFL Credit or a PPP loan as it was not an active business during the applicable time.

13. Agee Professional Tax Service, LLC (Agee Tax) was a tax preparation
service created in Mississippi but not an Eligible Employer to receive FFCR Act SFL
Credit or a PPP loan as it was not an active business during the applicable time.

14. Robbie Reese DBA Loving Arms Learning Center was not an Eligible
Employer to receive a PPP loan as it was not an active business during the applicable time.
COUNTS 1-10

15. | The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 14 are hereby realleged and
incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

16. | Beginning on a date unknown to the government, but at least as early as
F ebruary 14, 2022, and continuing through at least April 11, 2022, in Madison County in
the Southern District of Mississippi, Northern Division, and elsewhere, defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee, did knowingly devise and execute a scheme and
artifice to defraud and obtain benefits, money and property by means of materially false
and fraudulent pretenses and representations, and willfully and knowingly did embezzle,
steal, purloin and/or knowingly convert to her own use or the use of another, property of the
United States that is, greater than $1,000.00 in funds belonging to the United States of America,
by receiving from the Internal Revenue Service, a governmental agency of the United States of
America, certain Sick and Family Leave Credit benefits to which she knew she was not
entitled.

17. | The purpose of the scheme and artifice to defraud was for the defendant
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 5 of 14

to unlawfully obtain Sick and Family Leave Credit funds or benefits to which she was not
legally entitled.

18. It was part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant electronically filed
ten false Forms 941 on behalf of Agee Transit and Agee Tax to obtain refunds or
benefits to which she knew she was not legally entitled.

19. The Mississippi Department of Employment Security (MDES) is the state
governmental entity to which businesses in Mississippi register, report file and pay
unemployment taxes.

20. MDES does not have a record of Agee Tax in their system and Agee
Transit did not have an MDES account until on or about March 1, 2022, when it
registered as anew employer. Neither company paid employees qualified sick and family
leave wages during the time period on the Form 941’s submitted by Agee Transit or AP
Tax.

21. Upon receiving U.S. government checks from the IRS, ROBBIE REESE
a/k/a Robbie Agee deposited them in an account with Members Exchange Credit Union
(“Members Exchange”) in Madison County in the Northern Division of the Southern
District of Mississippi.

22. Asaresult ofher scheme, ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee,
fraudulently obtained a total of more than $1,100,000.00 in SFL Credit funds or
benefits.

23. Each of the following deposits constitutes a separate count of this

Indictment:
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 6 of 14

ICOUNT

COMPANY DEPOSIT IRS CHECK AMOUNT
DATE IDEPOSITED

1 Agee Tax 2/14/2022 $83,945.03
2 Agee Transit 2/22/2022 $58,071.76
3 Agee Tax 2/22/2022 $156,059.60

4 Agee Transit 3/8/2022 $102,994.00
5 Agee Tax 3/8/2022 $243,724.57
6 Agee Tax 4/11/2022 $97,440.58
7 Agee Tax 4/11/2022 $103,769.39
8 Agee Tax 4/11/2022 $95,275.65
9 Agee Transit 4/11/2022 $85,028.35
10 Agee Tax 4/11/2022 $87,500.20

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.

24.

COUNTS 11-16

The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 23 are hereby

realleged and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

25.

From in or about April 2020 through in or about May 2021, in Madison

County in the Northern Division of the Southern District of Mississippi and elsewhere,

the defendant, ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee, did knowingly devise and
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 7 of 14

execute a scheme and artifice to defraud and obtain benefits, money and property
by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses and representations, and
willfully and knowingly did embezzle, steal, purloin and/or knowingly convert to her
own use or the use of another, property of the United States that is, greater than
$1,000.00 in funds belonging to the United States of America, certain Paycheck
Protection Program benefits to which she knew she was not entitled, said benefits
guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, a governmental agency of the
United States of America.

26. Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee applied for three PPP
loans using false and fraudulent information about her purportedly active companies,
Agee Pro Transit Service LLC, Agee Professional Tax Service LLC, and Robbie Reese
DBA Loving Arms Learning Center, with the intent to defraud, steal, and convert the
proceeds of the PPP loans for defendant ROBBIE REESE’S a/k/a Robbie Agee’s
personal use and without any intent to use the proceeds thereof for any authorized
purpose. These materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises
made by ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee induced Members Exchange Credit
Union (MECU) to deposit benefits from PPP loans guaranteed by the SBA to the
aforementioned companies of ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee in the amount of
about $146,210.00.

PPP loan number 7833697303

27. — It was part of this scheme that on or about April 30, 2020, Defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee submitted an application for PPP loan number

7833697303 to Members Exchange Credit Union (MECU) to fund a PPP loan
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 8 of 14

guaranteed by the SBA in the name of her purportedly active company, Agee Pro
Transit Service LLC. Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee provided her
personal address as Agee Pro Transit Service LLC’s address.

28. Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee falsely and
fraudulently submitted in the application for PPP loan number 7833697303 for Agee
Pro Transit Service LLC a false IRS Schedule C for 2019, claiming one employee as of
the date of the application, and that its gross income in 2019 was $41,224. The
application identified the defendant as the Principal/Sole Proprietor of the purported
business.

29. | These representations were materially false and fraudulent. Agee Pro
Transit Service LLC was not an active business eligible for any PPP funding. The
MDES has no record of Agee Pro Transit Service LLC until March 1, 2022.

30. PPP loan number 7833697303 was handled by Members Exchange on a
delegated basis by the SBA. On or about May 5, 2020, as a result of the fraudulent
scheme described above, and the materially false and fraudulent information supplied
by Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee, Members Exchange deposited
$5,120.00 into Agee Pro Transit Service LLC’s Members Exchange checking account,
said business checking account having been opened on May 4, 2020.

31. It was part of this scheme that on or about February 3, 2021, Defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee submitted an application for second draw on
the PPP loan, number 3713348405, to Members Exchange Credit Union (MECU) to
fund a PPP loan guaranteed by the SBA in the name Agee Pro Transit Service LLC. As

a result, the second draw was approved and Members Exchange deposited into Agee
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 9 of 14

Pro Transit Service LLC’s Members Exchange checking account the amount of
$6,002.00.

PPP loan number 3587188501

32. — It was part of this scheme that on or about February 22, 2021, Defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee submitted an application for PPP loan number
3587188501 to Members Exchange Credit Union (MECU) to fund a PPP loan
guaranteed by the SBA in the name of her purportedly active company, Agee
Professional Tax Service LLC. Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee
provided her personal address as Agee Professional Tax Service LLC’s address and
opened a business checking account in its name with Members Exchange on February
8, 2021.

33. Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee falsely and
fraudulently submitted in the application for PPP loan number 3587188501 for Agee
Professional Tax Service LLC a false IRS Schedule C for 2019 and 2020, claiming
four employees as of the date of the application, and with a calculated annual payroll of
$224,220.00 which was false. The application identified the defendant as the Contact
of the purported business.

34. These representations were materially false and fraudulent. Agee
Professional Tax Service LLC was not an active business eligible for any PPP funding.
The MDES has no record of Agee Professional Tax Service LLC.

35. PPP loan number 3587188501 was handled by Members Exchange on a
delegated basis by the SBA. On or about February 24, 2021, as a result of the

fraudulent scheme described above, and the materially false and fraudulent information
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document 9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 10 of 14

supplied by Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee, Members Exchange
- deposited $46,712.00 into Agee Professional Tax Service LLC’s Members Exchange
checking account.

36. It was part of this scheme that on or about May 12, 2021, Defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee submitted an application for second draw on
the PPP loan, number 1611759003, to fund a PPP loan guaranteed by the SBA in the
name Agee Professional Tax Service LLC. As a result, the second draw was approved
and Members Exchange deposited into Agee Professional Tax Service LLC’s Members
Exchange checking account the amount of $46,712.00.

PPP loan number 7368908610

37. It was part of this scheme that on or about March 22, 2021, Defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee submitted an application for PPP loan number
7368908610 to fund a PPP loan guaranteed by the SBA in the name of her purportedly
active company, Robbie Reese DBA Loving Arms Learning Center. Defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee provided her personal address as Loving Arms
Learning Center’s address.

38. Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee falsely and
fraudulently submitted in the application for PPP loan number 7368908610 for Loving
Arms Learning Center a false IRS Schedule C for 2019, claiming one employee as of
the date of the application, and that its gross income in 2019 was $99,996.00. The
application identified the defendant as the Principal/Sole Proprietor of the purported
business.

39. These representations were materially false and fraudulent. Robbie

10
Case 3:23-cr-O0099-HTW-ASH Document 9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 11 of 14

Reese DBA Loving Arms Learning Center was not an active business eligible for any
PPP funding. The MDES has no record of a business in the name of Robbie Reese
DBA Loving Arms Learning Center nor does the Mississippi Secretary of State.

40. PPP loan number 7368908610 was handled by Members Exchange on a
delegated basis by the SBA. On or about March 24, 2021, as a result of the fraudulent
scheme described above, and the materially false and fraudulent information supplied
by Defendant ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee, Members Exchange deposited
$20,832.00 into Loving Arms Learning Center’s Members Exchange checking
account, said account having been opened the same day.

41. It was part of this scheme that on or about May 12, 2021, Defendant
ROBBIE REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee submitted an application for second draw on
the PPP loan, number 1354799002, to fund a PPP loan guaranteed by the SBA in the
name Loving Arms Learning Center. As a result, the second draw was approved and
Members Exchange deposited into Loving Arms Learning Center’s Members
Exchange checking account the amount of $20,832.00.

42. Onor about the dates listed below, in Madison County in the Northern
Division of the Southern District of Mississippi and elsewhere, Defendant ROBBIE
REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee, for the purpose of executing this scheme and artifice to
defraud and attempting to do so, caused to be deposited SBA guaranteed benefits, each

deposit constituting a separate count of this Indictment:

11
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 12 of 14

COUNT

DATE OF DEPOSIT

DESCRIPTION

11

5/5/2020

SBA Loan Application, PPP Loan 7833697303 in the
name of Agee Pro Transit Service LLC and received
$5120.00

12

2/6/2021

SBA Second Draw Loan Application, PPP Loan
3713348405 in the name of Agee Pro Transit Service
LLC and received $6,002.00

13

2/24/2021

SBA Loan Application, PPP Loan 3587188501 in the
name of Agee Professional Tax Service LLC and
received $46,712.00

14

5/17/2021

SBA Second Draw Loan Application, PPP Loan
1611759003 in the name of Agee Professional Tax
Service LLC and received $46,712.00

15

3/24/2021

SBA Loan Application, PPP Loan 7368908610 in the
name of Robbie Reese DBA Loving Arms Learning
Center and received $20,832.00

16

5/17/2021

SBA Second Draw Loan Application, PPP Loan
1354799002 in the name of Robbie Reese DBA Loving
Arms Learning Center and received $20,832.00

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.

43.

COUNTS 17-24

The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 42 are hereby realleged

and incorporated by reference as though fully set forth herein.

44,

On or about the dates listed below, in Madison County in the Northern

Division of the Southern District of Mississippi and elsewhere, Defendant ROBBIE

REESE a/k/a Robbie Agee, did knowingly engage and attempt to engage in the

following monetary transactions by, through or to a financial institution, affecting

interstate and foreign commerce, in criminally derived property ofa value greater than

$10,000, such property having been derived from a specified unlawful activity, to wit:

12
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 13 of 14

wrongful conversion of federal benefits, in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Sections 641.

45. Each of the following constitutes a separate count of this Indictment:

COUNT | PURCHASER DATE TRANSACTION

Payment of $61,345.75 to Porsche of

17 Robbie Reese 2/28/2022
Jackson for 2021 Infiniti Q60

Payment of $27,837.60 to Mac Haik

18 Robbie Reese 3/8/2022 :
dealership for 2016 BMW purchase

Payment of $281,900.00 for a house

19 Robbie Reese 3/18/2022 a
at 1002 Silver Cir. in Pearl, MS

20 Agee Transit 4/11/2022 Payment of $34,481.00 to CarMax

for 2020 Dodge Charger

21 Agee Transit 4/15/2022 Purchase from Ashley Home Stores
for $10,218.41

22 Agee Tax 4/15/2022 Purchase from Ross Furniture for
$11,000.00

23 Agee Tax 4/19/2022 Purchase from Ross Furniture for
$13,972.23

24 Agee Transit 4/27/2022 Payment of $100,185.00 to

Jackson-Empire Truck Sales
for 2017 FTL

Allin violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SEEK CRIMINAL FORFEITURE

As a result of committing the offenses as alleged in this Indictment, the defendant shall
forfeit to the United States all property involved in or traceable to property involved in the offenses,

including but not limited to all proceeds obtained directly or indirectly from the offenses, and all

13
Case 3:23-cr-00099-HTW-ASH Document9 Filed 12/13/23 Page 14 of 14

property used to facilitate the offenses. Further, if any property described above, as a result of any
act or omission of the defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has
been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the
jurisdiction of the Court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been
commingled with other property, which cannot be divided without difficulty, then it is the intent
of the United States to seek a judgment of forfeiture of any other property of the defendant, up to
the value of the property described in this notice or any bill of particulars supporting it.

All pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); and Title

28, United States Code, Section 2461.

TODD W.GEE “
United States Attorney

A TRUE BILL:
S/SIGNATURE REDACTED

Foreperson of a emer gl

This indictment ee in open court by the foreperson or deputy foreperson of the
Grand Jury on this the_/3day of December 2023.

UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

14


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