Two former Monmouth County residents were indicted April 20 on charges alleging they bilked more than $3.75 million in fraudulent pandemic-related loans that were intended to help struggling small businesses.

Jean Rabbitt and Kevin Aguilar, who previously lived in Farmingdale but now reside in Sherman, Texas, were charged with multiple offenses in the indictment announced Thursday by U.S. Attorney for New Jersey Philip Selinger, which was handed down by a grand jury in Newark.

Those counts include:

• One count of conspiracy to engage bank fraud;
• Seven counts of bank fraud;
• One count of conspiracy to engage in wire fraud;
• Three counts of wire fraud;
• One count of conspiracy to engage in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity;
• One count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity;
• And one count of aggravated identity theft.

Rabbitt is also charged with one count of making a false statement in a loan application.

The duo was arrested last year related to the scheme, and charged with multiple offenses, including: bank fraud, conspiracy and engaging in monetary transactions derived from unlawful activity.

Thursday’s superseding indictment added more detail and context to the scheme.

“Rabbitt and Aguilar submitted seven fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications on behalf of four businesses that Rabbitt owned or controlled. Rabbitt and Aguilar made multiple false statements in their PPP applications, at least one of which was submitted to a Federal Home Loan Bank Member,” said prosecutors, according to documents filed in the case and statements made in court. “The lenders approved PPP loans totaling $3.33 million and transmitted those funds to Rabbit’s businesses.

“Rabbitt and Aguilar also submitted fraudulent applications to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the federal Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. Based on false statements in those applications, the SBA approved EIDL’s to three of Rabbitt’s businesses, totaling approximately $447,000,” prosecutors said.

Prosecutors allege that after receiving those PPP and EIDL funds, the pair transferred that money to sham businesses created by Aguilar to give the false impression that the funds were being used for legitimate purposes. Prosecutors say that the money instead went toward personal expenses, including real estate in Texas, new farm equipment and a new truck.

“Rabbitt and Aguilar also engaged in identify theft, by submitting an EIDL application using the name and identifying information of an individual who did not authorize the use of that information,” prosecutors allege. “Rabbitt is also charged with making a false statement on a loan application, including with respect to her gross monthly income, in order to obtain financing to purchase a new truck from a Monmouth County car dealership.”

The prosecutors estimate that the conspiracy took place from April 2020 until March 2022.

Attorneys for the pair did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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