MONTGOMERY, ALA. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Auburn, Alabama man has pleaded guilty to federal charges stemming from a scheme to fraudulently obtain federal COVID relief funds and to unlawfully employ aliens who were not authorized to work in the United States.
On September 9, 2026, Cesar Campos-Reyes, 52, pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with wire fraud, money laundering, and unlawful employment of aliens.
United States Attorney Thomas Govan, Special Agent in Charge Christopher R. Flowers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Mobile Division, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ellen Johnson for Homeland Security Investigations in Georgia and Alabama made the announcement.
“Federal COVID relief funds were intended to help legitimate businesses and their employees, not to be diverted for personal gain or used to support an unlawful workforce,” said U.S. Attorney Govan. “This defendant defrauded programs designed to assist American businesses, misused taxpayer-funded assistance, and knowingly employed individuals who were not authorized to work in the United States. We will continue to hold accountable those who abuse federal programs and violate federal law.”
“Campos Reyes’s actions diverted critical pandemic relief funds away from the small businesses they were meant to support,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Flowers. “This guilty plea underscores the FBI’s commitment to protecting taxpayer resources, safeguarding victims, and rebuilding public trust by holding accountable those who exploit federal programs and violate the law.”
“Fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief funds and knowingly employing unauthorized workers undermines both the integrity of federal programs and the rule of law,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Johnson. “HSI will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate individuals who exploit taxpayer-funded programs and violate our nation’s employment laws for personal gain.”
According to court documents and admissions made as part of his guilty plea, in May 2020, Campos-Reyes fraudulently applied for and received approximately $866,500 in funds through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program. The PPP and EIDL programs were established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide financial assistance to eligible small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campos‑Reyes admitted that he did not use the relief funds for their intended purposes. Instead, in June 2020, he used $262,145.20 to purchase real property located in Opelika, Alabama.
Campos‑Reyes further admitted that, up to July 15, 2025, he knowingly hired and employed unauthorized aliens at multiple restaurants he owned or operated, fully aware that they were not permitted to work in the United States.
A sentencing hearing for Campos-Reyes will be scheduled in the coming months. At that hearing, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud, up to 10 years for money laundering, and up to six months in prison for unlawful employment of aliens. Campos-Reyes also faces substantial fines and the forfeiture of proceeds seized during the investigation. A federal district judge will determine Campos-Reyes’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system.
The investigation and resulting charges in this case are the culmination of a coordinated investigation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). Additional assistance was provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Alabama Department of Corrections, Auburn Police Department, Opelika Police Department, Prattville Police Department, Wetumpka Police Department, the Elmore County Sheriff’s Office, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and the United States Marshals Service.
This operation received significant assistance from the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.
The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Mobile comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and other federal and local agencies. The prosecution is being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama.
