Two former Farmingdale, Monmouth County residents have been placed in handcuffs in Frisco, Texas, where they currently reside, for their roles in fraudulently obtaining more than $3-million in federal Paycheck Protection Program payments, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced on Wednesday.

Jean E. Rabbitt, 51, and Kevin Aguilar, 51, will appear in court on Thursday via videoconference.

Rabbitt is accused of submitting fraudulent PPP loan applications, one for each of the four businesses that she controlled.

On those applications, she put false certifications, tax records, payroll records, as well as the number of employees and gross revenue.

They also contained fraudulent representation to the lenders, investigators learned, which includes a Federal Home Loan Bank member and the SBA itself.

Investigators later found out that none of the purported tax documents she submitted, were filed with the IRS, and through other government records, they learned that Rabbitt’s businesses hadn't paid wages to any employee.

For Rabbitt’s businesses, there was about approximately $3.33 million that came in via federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds.

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While Rabbitt submitted the fraudulent PPP loan applications, Aguilar, in turn, created sham payroll companies.

Rabbitt then allegeldy wrote checks from her businesses to the sham payroll companies, claiming the payments were for payroll, and then her and Aguilar transferred the ill gotten money to other companies Aguilar created.

Once they had the money, they used it to buy residential properties in Sherman, Texas, and for personal expenses as well.

Rabbitt is now 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.

Aguilar 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.

Attorney Sellinger said that, "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 the 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."

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olajide Araromi and David V. Simunovich of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Government Fraud Unit, in Newark.

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