The Macomb accountant accused of stealing more than $100,000 from a widow won’t have to plead guilty in the case.
Instead, under a deal agreed to between his attorney and the McDonough County State’s Attorney’s office, Allan Reusch, 68. will be placed in the Offender Initiative Program for two years with the following conditions:
- He will surrender any professional licenses, including his CPA license, he will not practice under any professional license, and will not seek reinstatement of any professional license
- He will pay a $3,900 fine and court costs
- He will perform 100 hours of community service
- He must not violate any criminal statute of any jurisdiction
The victim in the case, Cathy Corey, was in McDonough County circuit court Thursday afternoon when the deal was approved.
“It’s very disappointing. I’m very disappointed in the state’s attorney’s office for not putting in the time and the effort that they should have put into this case to let the judge know what was going on” she said.
She said Reusch should at least be convicted of a felony.
Victim statement
Corey drove from her home in Kentucky – a 14-hour round trip -- to be in the courtroom Thursday afternoon. Ninth Circuit Judge Raymond Cavanaugh allowed her to read a statement before he accepted the deal.
Corey said her husband passed away on August 6, 2017.
“Just eight days later, on August 14, 2017, the defendant (Reusch) began a series of transactions, taking money and selling off my investments,” she said.
She said Reusch took close to $140,000 during the next 15 months.
“While I grieved, he stole,” Corey said.
She said he also took money from the account while her husband was still alive.
Corey hired attorney Seth Uphoff to investigate.
Uphoff discovered a huge sum of money had been taken. He then secured an admission from Reusch and helped her get back most of the money through a settlement agreement.
“None of that came free. It cost me money, it cost me time, it cost me heartache,” Corey said.
She called the agreement between Reusch and prosecutors “measly,” and she referred to Reusch as a thief.
She said he should be held criminally accountable.
“There is no justice or accountability in this proposal,” she told the court.
Afterward, Corey told TSPR that her husband considered Reusch his best friend. They knew each other for more than 30 years.
“I never dreamed that he would take our money. The thought never crossed my mind,” she said.
“I was just stunned when I started seeing the checks that he had written to himself and to his accounting firm.”
Uphoff also found fault with the deal.
“Is Mr. Reusch a violent criminal? No, he’s not. But is he somebody who committed a very serious felony offense? He is,” Uphoff said.
“I think the disposition here is lighter than a lot of misdemeanor dispositions, frankly.”
Reusch’s attorney, Justin Bougher, said the case is not as clear cut as others made it out to be.
He said the agreement is appropriate.
Background on the case
The settlement agreement from 2020 shows 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.
The transactions in which Reusch allegedly 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.
Cathy Corey’s attorney, Seth Uphoff, served as an assistant state’s attorney for six years in Peoria County and as state’s attorney of Livingston County for four years.
He now runs Uphoff Law LLC in Peoria.
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.
“Mr. Reusch was pretty bold about what he did. He didn’t try to camouflage it very much,” he told TSPR.
“He flat out used their money as if it was his personal piggy bank.”
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.
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