Reyes

Cliff Williams / TPI Federal authorities are looking for Cesar Campos Reyes. He has been with nine counts related bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering surrounding PPP loans.

The man at the center of Tuesday morning federal search warrants is in custody.

Cesar Campos-Reyes, 52, was located Tuesday evening hours after federal authorities including the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE, FBI, DEA and other agencies searched 14 locations including restaurants in Elmore County.

Campos-Reyes has been charged with federal crimes related to loans received through the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, announced Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson. Campos-Reyes, who was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, two sources of relief provided by the CARES Act are the Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Both programs were intended to help eligible small businesses by giving them working capital to make regular payments for operating expenses such as payroll, rent or mortgage expenses, utilities, or business debt. The indictment alleges that Campos-Reyes made false representations when applying for multiple loans for various restaurants owned and operated by him and for using the proceeds for unauthorized purposes.

If convicted on all charges, Campos-Reyes faces a sentence of up to 30 years in prison along with significant fines. There is no parole in the federal system.

 

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