Rose bound over to circuit court

BENTON, Mo. — A Sikeston man facing nearly 50 charges of forgery, stealing and money laundering involving local businesses was ordered bound over to circuit court.

A preliminary hearing for Carl Eugene Rose was conducted June 5; witnesses were sworn and testimony was given, according to online court records. A judge ordered Rose bound over to circuit court on all charges, which include 46 felonies and four misdemeanors.

Rose, who is represented by Jacob Zimmerman of Cape Girardeau, also requested a change of venue to Pemiscot County. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. July 11. Dunklin County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Kenneth Ryan Dicus of Gobler, Missouri, in Pemiscot County, has been appointed to act as special prosecuting attorney in this case.

Rose was charged Feb. 23 with 16 felony counts of forgery, two felony counts of defrauding secured creditors, 25 felony counts of stealing ($750 or more), three felony counts of money laundering or attempted money laundering, three misdemeanor counts of stealing and one misdemeanor count of stealing (value less than $150 and no prior stealing offense), according to online court records.

According to online court records, Rose pleaded not guilty during a hearing March 6. His bond was reduced to $50,000 cash or $100,000 cash or surety. Court records state he posted bond on March 7.

According to the redacted probable cause statement, on April 13, 2023, while meeting with a detective at Sikeston Department of Public Safety headquarters, the victim accused Rose of forging signatures, misappropriating funds as well as liquidating petty cash for personal gain.

The victim claimed to work at Southern Funeral Services in Sikeston with Rose, who was the president of the business and the organizer of 2BF Properties LLC. The victim said the business was formed Feb. 12, 2020, and is an “S Corporation” registered under the laws of the state.

According to the probable cause statement, the victim went on to say over the past year, he discovered suspicious electronic money/credit transactions, which led to an internal investigation. The victim also found incidents of forgery where the victim’s name was signed to bank documents without prior knowledge or authorization.

The first incident occurred on Aug. 23, 2021. It was a commercial loan for a business vehicle, which totaled $66,981. The victim’s signature was present on several pages.

The second incident was a personal truck loan for an agreement dated Feb. 10, 2022, with a total loan amount of $73,106. It was used to purchase a vehicle for the business. The victim’s signature was on page 2 of the application. 

According to the probable cause statement, this equated to around 11 counts of forgery at the time. The victim noted that during the time of the vehicle loan applications, he was home sick and had no knowledge of the transactions.

It was noted in the probable cause statement that even though Rose was in business with the victim at the time, he did not have the authority or permission to complete the documents with the victim’s signature or the victim’s representation of the business.

In August 2022, the business’ accountant alerted the victim of “red flags” in the financial reports. The victim learned Rose was misappropriating company assets for personal gain, liquidating company assets and overleveraging company debt.

As of November 2022, certified public accountants told the victim that Rose’s misappropriation totaled $154,592.84. As of October 2022, the victim learned through bank statements that Rose had misappropriated $21,000 of the company assets of 2BF Properties LLC.

The misappropriation of funds for personal gain included unauthorized financial transactions on the company credit card, bank account, as well as Rose linking his personal account to the business accounts to receive money to his personal account.

According to the probable cause statement, in a review of the purchases/transactions, the following were described: rodeo entry participation fees, bling for horses, dog products, airline tickets, hotel expenses, rental vehicles, lottery tickets and other items not commonly associated with transactions of the victim businesses. During these transactions, Rose reportedly liquidated Southern Funeral Services, Inc. petty cash in the amount of $15,375.86.