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Records show Reditus CEO amassed a fleet of luxury vehicles and 2 private planes

Jet airplane
FlightAware
This is a photo of a Mystere Falcon 900 jet, tail number N900YB, that's registered Pekin-based RLL Aviation LLC, according to FAA records. That's one of Aaron Rossi's company, state records show.

The owner of a lab that made hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer money for running COVID-19 tests has amassed a fleet of luxury cars and at least two private planes, WGLT has learned.

Aaron Rossi of Bloomington is CEO at Reditus Labs in Pekin. Rossi was recently indicted on federal tax fraud charges and faces a lawsuit from a business partner who accuses Rossi of “pillaging” Reditus to fund a “nouveau riche over-the-top lifestyle,” court records show.

Rossi’s vehicle collection certainly points to a spending spree.

There are 28 vehicles registered in Rossi’s name or that of his company, AJR MD Consulting, according to state records obtained by WGLT through the Freedom of Information Act. That includes six Porsches, six BMWs, two Mercedes-Benzes, a Ferrari, and a Tesla, records show. Almost all of them are model years 2020, 2021, or 2022, suggesting they were purchased recently.

Separately, there are 59 other vehicles registered to Reditus Laboratories, which Rossi owns. That includes nine BMWs, a Porsche, and a Tesla.

It’s unclear how the vehicles are used. Some of the vehicles registered to Reditus, for example, may be used for business purposes, as the company runs COVID tests in a wide territory.

Aaron Rossi at desk looks at a projected computer screen from his office in Pekin.
Eric Stock
/
WGLT
Reditus CEO Aaron Rossi quickly became a high-profile businessman in central Illinois—even appearing alongside Gov. JB Pritzker in 2020—when Reditus won hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts to run COVID-19 tests

Video and photos obtained by WGLT show what appears to be a garage filled with luxury vehicles. Several of those vehicles are registered in Rossi’s name or one of his companies, according to license plates observed by WGLT in the footage and crosschecked against state records. Inside that garage were also a bright-green Lamborghini and a Rolls Royce, though it’s unclear if those are Rossi’s. They were parked inside the same garage as other vehicles registered in his name.

The video and photos were shared with WGLT by a Reditus employee who asked not to be identified. The employee claimed the garage is located on the Reditus property in Pekin.

Public records also show that Rossi or his companies own at least two private planes.

One of those planes is a Beechcraft King Air B200GT, registered to AJR MD Consulting – the same Rossi company that many of the luxury vehicles were registered to, according to FAA records. The second plane is a jet (a Mystere Falcon 900) that’s registered to Pekin-based RLL Aviation LLC, another Rossi company.

It is not illegal to own expensive cars or private planes.

However, Rossi faces a lawsuit in Tazewell County court from a business partner, accusing him of intermingling Reditus money with his personal money. The business partner, James Davie, alleges that Rossi has wrought “financial destruction” on Reditus through “shady accounting” and the misuse of funds. The lawsuit claims Rossi has conflated his personal finances with that of the business, using company employees and accountants to handle private dealings.

Reditus and Rossi have not commented on those specific allegations. They shared this comment on Friday when WGLT first reported on the lawsuit, the bulk of which remains under seal:

“The Davie litigation currently has a protective order in place which was agreed to by Davie’s attorneys when it was entered with the court. Reditus will respect that order and therefore not comment on this matter which could violate the terms of that order. The company does not comment on pending litigation and will file our responses through the court. Finally, (a Reditus spokesperson) does not comment on Dr. Aaron Rossi's personal matters or questions regarding same,” the company said.

Davie has since hired new attorneys since the protective order was put in place. They want it lifted.

Reditus and Rossi did not immediately respond to a new request for comment from WGLT placed on Wednesday, asking about the collection of luxury vehicles and the two planes.

Rossi, a 39-year-old entrepreneur who grew up in the Morton and Peoria area, rose to prominence during the pandemic. Rossi quickly became a high-profile businessman in central Illinois—even appearing alongside Gov. JB Pritzker in 2020—when Reditus won hundreds of millions of dollars in state contracts to run COVID-19 tests, including from a testing site in Bloomington. Rossi also runs or plans to launch several other businesses, including a branding company.

The Rossi-Davie lawsuit is due in court for a hearing on Wednesday afternoon.

The federal tax charges against Rossi remain pending.

Ryan Denham is the digital content director for WGLT.
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