United States v. Ahmed M. Sary — D. Md., Baltimore, No. 1:22-mj-01286-JMC

Case summary

Ahmed M. Sary was charged by a sealed criminal complaint filed April 29, 2022 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland at Baltimore, No. 1:22-mj-01286-JMC. The arrest warrant gives the offenses as wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, wire fraud conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 1349 and money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956. The government's detention letter states that the complaint arises out of the submission of numerous fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, both for the defendant's own purported businesses and for other purported businesses. A magistrate judge set conditions of release on May 9, 2022; a district judge stayed that order and detained him on May 11; a further order setting conditions of release and an appearance bond followed on May 13, 2022.

Case at a glance

What does the government say the complaint is about?

The government's letter in advance of the detention hearing states that the complaint arises out of the defendant's submission of numerous fraudulent applications for Paycheck Protection Program loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, both for his own purported businesses and for other purported businesses, and that those applications contained false statements and misrepresentations. At the detention hearing the prosecutor described a scheme involving the submission of numerous PPP and EIDL loans, both provided in connection with the CARES Act in light of the pandemic, which the prosecutor said were loans meant to help small business owners across the country.

What happened over detention?

A magistrate judge issued an order of temporary detention on the day of the complaint and later set conditions of release on May 9, 2022. The government appealed, and on May 11, 2022 the district judge stayed execution of the release order and held that the defendant is detained until further order of the court. An order setting conditions of release, an appearance bond and an agreement to forfeit property were then entered on May 13, 2022.

What does the government's detention letter set out?

Its argument that each of the factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g) favors detention on the basis of both economic danger and risk of flight, that the government bears the burden of establishing risk of flight by a preponderance of the evidence and danger to the community by clear and convincing evidence, and that many of the acts alleged required only access to the internet or a telephone. The letter states that the loan applications used doctored bank statements covering the February 2020 period because a business had to be in operation on or before February 15, 2020 to qualify for a PPP loan.

Summary written from the documents on this page; every sentence is sourced.