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Reditus Labs CEO Aaron Rossi will face federal trial June 6 for tax fraud charges

Reditus Labs CEO Aaron Rossi leaves his first federal court appearance in Peoria on Thursday, April 7, 2022.
Hannah Alani
/
WCBU
Reditus Labs CEO Aaron Rossi leaves his first federal court appearance in Peoria on Thursday, April 7, 2022.

Reditus Labs CEO Aaron Rossi entered a plea of not guilty in federal court Thursday following his indictment on tax charges.

Rossi, 39, was indicted on charges of falsifying personal tax returns in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Following the news of the indictment, WCBU and WGLT became aware of multiple civil lawsuits filed against the CEO.

Pekin-based Reditus made hundreds of millions of dollars as one of the leading coronavirus testing companies for the state of Illinois.

Rossi's next court appearance in the federal criminal case will be a pre-trial conference at 9:45 a.m. on May 17. His trial is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on June 6.

Although Thursday's hearing took place in Peoria's federal courthouse, future proceedings will be overseen by Central District of Illinois Judge Sara Darrow. Darrow's home district is in Rock Island; however, because the Rock Island courthouse is under construction, future proceedings will take place across the Mississippi River, in Davenport, Iowa. Rossi agreed on Thursday to travel for these court appearances.

Rossi is not currently detained, but he could be arrested if he violates any of the following conditions set by the court:

  • Agree to supervision by the U.S. probation office of Central Illinois
  • Do not travel outside the district of Central Illinois without permission from the court
  • Give up passport to U.S. Clerk's office
  • Do not use narcotic drugs and submit to drug testing
  • Do not take out loans or lines of credit, and do not liquidate or transfer assets, without the permission of the court
  • Submit any future criminal or civil violations — including parking tickets — to law enforcement

These conditions of bond were place upon Rossi in addition to mandatory conditions of bond.

When approached by reporters after the hearing, Rossi said he had no comment.

After exiting the Peoria courthouse, he and his attorney climbed into the backseat of a white pickup parked on Main Street. Often seen wearing colorful outfits, Rossi wore a neon-splattered button down under a navy suit jacket.

WCBU, WGLT and other news organizations have filed a request to unseal evidence and other documents in a lawsuit against Reditus Labs and Rossi.

In that case, Reditus business partner James Davie has made scathing allegations against Rossi in court filings and in the media, accusing the Bloomington man of embezzling funds from a previous employer, illegally prescribing opiates to himself, and using cocaine.

Hannah Alani is a reporter at WCBU. She joined the newsroom in 2021. She can be reached at hmalani@ilstu.edu.