Federal Hearing for Lee County Resident
Cesar Campos Reyes from Lee County appeared in federal court on Friday in Montgomery after turning himself in regarding allegations of misusing a Covid-era relief fund.
Campos-Reyes pleaded not guilty to a total of nine federal charges, which include four counts of bank fraud connected to the misuse of the Paycheck Protection Program Fund, four counts of wire fraud related to the inappropriate use of financial injury disaster loan funds, and one count of money laundering.
The brief hearing didn’t disclose much beyond what was stated in the April indictment, which was sealed by federal prosecutors just before a significant operation that involved searches at eight restaurants and six residences in Mexico. This operation resulted in three federal arrests and the detention of 48 individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants by customs enforcement.
The indictment claims that Campos-Reyes submitted four loan applications for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) related to various restaurants. The loans mentioned were for $70,600 for Mariaci’s Mexican Grill, $54,700 for Pace’s El Patron, $74,700 for Pensacola’s El Patron, and $26,900 for Prattville’s El Patron.
Additionally, the indictment states that Campos-Reyes applied for and received wire transfers amounting to $149,900 to El Patron’s El Patron, Mariachi’s Mexican Grill, and El Rey de Todd (which is no longer owned by him). It’s alleged that these funds were directed into a private bank account owned by Campos-Reyes and not utilized for eligible expenses.
Furthermore, the indictment includes a money laundering charge involving $262,451 based on outgoing wire transfers from Campos-Reyes’ account.
Richard Matthews, Campos-Reyes’ attorney, mentioned that there might be additional serious charges forthcoming, although details are not yet available. Given the upcoming indictment and a substantial amount of evidence—43,000 pages—Matthews has requested that the trial be scheduled for November 3, 2025, instead of the previously planned date in August.
There’s a significant motion from the Justice Department arguing that Campos-Reyes should remain in custody due to flight risk concerns. However, Matthews plans to contest this motion. A detention hearing is set for Wednesday, July 23rd at 11 a.m.
Federal prosecutors have also brought complaints against three others who were arrested during the operation; all are scheduled to appear in federal court at 3 p.m. Luis Miguel Campos Reyes and Isaac Fernandez Lopez are facing charges for harboring illegal aliens, while Marco Antonio Guzman Ramirez is facing property charges related to the intent to distribute controlled substances.
