Details are emerging in the case of a Macomb CPA who is charged with theft.
A settlement agreement from 2020 shows Allan Reusch took funds from BBB Incorporated for his own use.
BBB was an investment firm started by Bob Corey, who lived in Kentucky. Corey and Reusch knew each other through their shared interest in hot air ballooning.
Corey was BBB’s sole shareholder. Reusch served as its treasurer and a director.
Corey died on Aug. 6, 2017, after a traffic accident the previous month.
His widow, Cathy Corey, then became BBB’s sole shareholder. She discovered money missing from the account while she was preparing documents for probate court.
“Reusch sent me some information showing what the balance was in BBB’s account. That balance was significantly less than what my husband had told me should be in there,” she told TSPR.
The alleged transactions in which Reusch took money from the account happened between August 2017 and March 2019.
The settlement agreement, signed in February 2020, said Reusch engaged in a series of transactions in which he liquidated BBB’s stock and/or other assets, and used the proceeds to benefit himself, his family, and his firm, Reusch & Associates.
Reusch returned $93,735 to BBB prior to the agreement, and then paid an additional $330,000 to BBB to settle all claims for the money taken.
Even though Reusch repaid money, Corey said he should get a felony conviction at minimum so that the public knows what happened.
“This has been heartbreaking, and I just don’t want somebody else to have to deal with this,” she said, adding it’s especially upsetting because Reusch and Bob Corey were more than just business partners.
“My husband considered Reusch to be one of his best friends for over 30 years.”
Her attorney, Seth Uphoff, wrote to McDonough County State’s Attorney Matt Kwacala in May 2020, urging him to investigate Reusch to determine the full extent of his criminal activities and to identify other potential victims.
He said Reusch made multiple admissions by paying money back into the account, via incriminating statements and admissions in correspondence, and by agreeing to a civil settlement.
The theft case against Reusch was filed on Jan. 25, 2022.
He is due back in circuit court on Thursday, Feb. 23.
Reusch’s attorney, Justin Bougher, declined to comment because the matter is still pending.
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