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Home Court filings Ejembi Onah case — U.S. District Court, N.D.N.Y. Criminal Complaint — United States v. Onah (Dkt. 1, N.D.N.Y.)

Court filing

Criminal Complaint — United States v. Onah (Dkt. 1, N.D.N.Y.)

Summary

An AO 91 criminal complaint in United States v. Ejembi Onah, No. 3:22-cr-00082-DNH, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, filed April 2, 2021 as Document 1. It charges that from on or about April 1, 2020 through March 3, 2021, in the county of Tompkins, the defendant committed wire fraud under Section 1343 and money laundering under Section 1957 of Title 18. The attached affidavit of Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Brad Brechler summarizes the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan rules under the CARES Act. It states that on or about June 22, 2020 Onah submitted a PPP Borrower Application Form (SBA Form 2483) to Fundbox on behalf of Advance Nanofocus, Inc. The affidavit was attested by telephone before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miroslav Lovric.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Filed April 2, 2021 in Ejembi Onah; one of 1 filings from this case.

Record facts

CourtU.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York
Filed2021-04-02

Cite this document

“Criminal Complaint — United States v. Onah (Dkt. 1, N.D.N.Y.).” U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York, No. 3:22-cr-00082, Doc. 1, filed 2021-04-02. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/court-filings/full-docket-ejembi-onah-nynd-132009/2021-04-02-gov-uscourts-nynd-132009-1-0-doc-1/, SHA-256 467a298b90ed93608c5e09471930078d656e5db367dc779268232ec3423d9a6c.

Full text

Text recognized from a scanned document; may contain errors.

Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 1 of 14

AO 91 (Rey, JI/L1) Criminal Complaint

                          UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

                                                for the
                                   _ Northern District of New York
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA                    )
                    Vv.
                                            )       Case No. 3:21-MJ- {4\       (ML)
                                            )
                                             )
EJEMBI ONAH                                 )
                                            )
               Defendant(s)                 )

                                      CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

       I, the complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief.

On or about the date(s) of April 1, 2020 through March 3, 2021 in the county of Tompkins in the Northern

District of New York the defendant(s) violated:

            Code Section                                      Offense Description
Title 18, United States Code,           Wire Fraud
Section 1343

Title 18, United States Code,           Money Laundering
Section 1957

This criminal complaint is based on these facts:
See Attached Affidavit

      Continued on the attached sheet.                ,
                                                         aS

                                                               Complainant’s signature

                                                           Brad Brechler, Special Agent, HSI

                                                                Printed name and title

Attested to by the affiant in accordance with Rule 4.1 of the Fedgral Rules of Criminal Progédure.

                                                       y Gf af       vA    hud e i        go
Date: April 2, 2021                                 YY WA) titer Jere

                                                                  Judge's signature

City and State:   Binghamton, New York                Hon. Miroslav Lovric, U.S. Magistrate Judge

                                                                Printed name and title

Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 2 of 14

AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

BRAD BRECHLER, being duly sworn, deposes and states:

INTRODUCTION

1, I am the applicant herein and I have been employed as a Special Agent of Homeland.
Security Investigations (“HSI”) since October 2009. I am currently assigned to the Syracuse
Resident Agent in Charge. As a special agent, I am an “investigative or law enforcement
officer” of the United States within the meaning of Section 2510(7) of Title 18, United States
Code, that is, an officer of the United States who is empowered by law to conduct
investigations and to make arrests for, among other things, offenses enumerated in Title 18 of
the United States Code.

2. I submit this affidavit in support of a criminal complaint charging EJEMBI ONAH,
the defendant, with violations of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 (wire fraud) and
1957 (money laundering).

CARES ACT BACKGROUND

3. The Coronavirus Aid Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law

enacted on March 27, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the
millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19
pandemic.

4, One soutce of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349
billion in United States Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed forgivable loans to
small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In April 2020, Congress
authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

5. In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business must submit a PPP loan
application, signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan application
is SBA Form 2483. The PPP loan application requires the business (through its authorized
representative) to acknowledge the program rules and make certain affirmative certifications
in order to be eligible to obtain the PPP loan. In the PPP loan application, the small business
(through its authorized representative) must state, among other things, its average monthly

payroll expenses and number of employees. These figures were used to calculate the amount


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 3 of 14

of money the small business was eligible to receive under the PPP. In addition, businesses
applying for a PPP loan must provide documentation showing their payroll expense.

6. A PPP loan application is processed by a participating lender. If a PPP loan
application is approved, the participating lender funds the PPP loan using its own monies,
which are 100% guaranteed by the SBA. Data from the application, including information
about the borrower, the total amount of the loan, and the listed number of employees, is
transmitted by the lender to the SBA in the course of processing a loan.

7. PPP loan proceeds must be used by the business on certain permissible expenses, such
as payroll cost, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and
principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on
these expense items within a designated period of time.

8. Another source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the expansion of the
Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic.

9, The EIDL program is an SBA program that provides low-interest financing to small
businesses, renters, and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters. The CARES
Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs of up to $2,000,000 to eligible small businesses
experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition,
the CARES Act authorized the SBA to issue advances of up to $10,000 to small businesses
within three days of applying for an EIDL. The amount of the advance was determined by
the number of employees the applicant certifies having. The advances do not have to be
repaid.

10. In order to obtain an EIDL and advance, a qualifying business must submit an
application to the SBA and provide information about its operations, such as the number of
employees, gross revenues for the 12-month period preceding the disaster, and cost of goods
sold in the 12-month period preceding the disaster. In the case of EIDLs for COVID-19 relief,
the 12-month period was that preceding January 31, 2020. The applicant must also certify
that all of the information in the application is true and correct to the best of the applicant’s
knowledge.

11. EDL applications are submitted directly to the SBA and processed by the agency with
support from a government contractor. The amount of the loan, if the application is

approved, is determined based, in part, on the information provided by the applicant about


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 4 of 14

employment, revenue, and cost of goods sold, as described above. Any funds issued under
EIDL or advances are issued directly by the SBA. EIDL funds can be used for payroll
expenses, sick leave, production costs, and business obligations, such as debts, rent, and
mortgage payments. If the applicant also obtains a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds
cannot be used for the same purpose as the PPP funds.'
THE SCHEME

12. According to records from the New York Secretary of State, ONAH registered the
business Focus Nanotechnology Africa (FONA) Inc. (“FONA”), on March 3, 2006.
13. According to records from the Delaware Secretary of State, ONAH registered the
business Advance Nanofocus, Incorporated (“Advance Nanofocus”), on March 23, 2007.

Fundbox PPP Loan Number 6994278004 in the Name of Advance Nanofocus, Inc. —

Funded by Fundbox

14. On or about June 22, 2020, ONAH submitted a PPP Borrower Application Form
(SBA Form 2483) to Fundbox (the “Fundbox PPP Application”), an SBA loan distributor,

on behalf of Advance Nanofocus.
15. The Fundbox PPP Application listed ONAH as the owner of Advance Nanofocus,
with an email address of ejembi@gmail.com. Based on my review of bank statements and
rent payments, as well as physical surveillance, I know that the business address listed on the
application is ONAH’s residential apartment address and the business phone number listed
is ONAH’s personal phone number. The Fundbox PPP Application stated that Advance
Nanofocus had three employees.
16. Based on my review of Google records for the account ejembi@gmail.com, I have
learned, in substance and in part, the following:

a. The account was created on September 28, 2005.

b. “Ejembi Onah” is the name associated with the account.

c. The recovery email is eonah@fonai.org and the recovery phone number is

ONAH’s personal phone number.

' The above is a summary of the PPP and EIDL rules that existed at the times relevant to this
affidavit.


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 5 of 14

d. The IP address 74.69.58.61, which matches the IP address in paragraphs 27

and 50, infra, was used to log into the account on May 8, 2020, at 17:55:26

UTC.
17. | Page two of the Fundbox PPP Application included a list of certifications statements
that must be initialed by the borrower. ONAH initialed all of the certifications, including the
one that reads as follows:

I further certify that the information provided in this application

and the information provided in all supporting documents and.

forms is true and accurate in all material respects. I understand

that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed

loan from SBA is punishable under the law... and, if submitted

to a federally insured institution, under 18 USC § 1014 by

imprisonment of not more than thirty years and/or a fine of not

more than $1,000,000.
ONAH signed and dated the SBA Form 2483 on behalf of Advance Nanofocus on June 22,
2020. |
18. As supporting documents to the Fundbox PPP Application, ONAH submitted a 2019
Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return) for the second quarter of 2019 for
Employer Identification Number (EIN) 20-8702033. IRS records confirm that this EIN
belongs to Advance Nanofocus. The Form 941 submitted with the Fundbox PPP Application
identifies the business name as “Focus Nanotechnology Africa Inc.” The Form 941 lists a
business address that is the same as ONAH’s residence. The Form 941 shows three
employees receiving total wages of $86,500.00 during the second quarter of 2019. The Form
941 has a digital signature for Ejembi ONAH showing that the document was signed on June
19, 2020, but below these digital signatures, in the date box, 07/07/2019 is typed in red.
19. IRS records show that Advance Nanofocus has never filed a Form 941. The Form
941 that ONAH provided as part of the Fundbox PPP Application was therefore a fictitious
document.
20. Based on the representations that ONAH made and caused to be made on the
Fundbox PPP Application, Advance Nanofocus received a PPP loan for $72,083.32 from
Fundbox and the loan was guaranteed by the SBA.


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 6 of 14

21.  Onor about July 20, 2020, an HSBC checking account ending in 2273 (“HSBC 2273”)
received an ACH credit for $72,083.32 from Fundbox marked as “Cash Concentration Adv
Credit.” HSBC 2273 is a business account held in the name of Advance Nanofocus that was

opened on February 14, 2020.

First Home Bank PPP Loan Number 1800458010 in the Name of Advance Nanofocus,
Inc. — Funded by First Home Bank

22. On or about June 28, 2020, ONAH submitted a PPP Borrower Application Form
(SBA Form 2483) to First Home Bank (the “First Home PPP Application”), an SBA loan
distributor, on behalf of Advance Nanofocus.

23. The First Home PPP Application listed ONAH as the owner of Advance Nanofocus;
the business address as ONAH’s residential address; the business phone number as ONAH’s
personal phone number; and email address as ejembi@gmail.com. The First Home PPP
Application stated that Advance Nanofocus had three employees.

24. Page two of the First Home PPP Application included a list of certifications statements
that must be initialed by the borrower. ONAH initialed all of the certifications, including the
false statement certification quoted in paragraph 17, supra. ONAH signed and dated the SBA
Form 2483 on behalf of Advance Nanofocus on June 28, 2020.

25. As supporting documentation to the First Home PPP Application, ONAH submitted
a 2019 Form 940 (Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return) and
Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return) for the second quarter of 2019, listing
the EIN for Advance Nanofocus. The Form 941 submitted with the First Home PPP
application identifies the business name as “Focus Nanotechnology Africa Inc.,” while the
Form 940 leaves the business name blank. Both the Forms 940 and 941 identify a business
address that is the same as ONAH’s residential address. The Form 941 shows three
employees receiving total wages of $86,500.00 during the second quarter of 2019. The Forms
940 and 941 both have a digital signature for Ejembi ONAH showing that the document was
signed on June 19, 2020, but below these digital signatures, in the date box, “07/07/2019” is
typed in red.


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 7 of 14

26. IRS records show that Advance Nanofocus has never filed a Form 940 or Form 941.
The Forms 940 and 941 ONAH provided as part of the First Home PPP Application were
therefore fictitious documents.

27. According to documents included in the First Home PPP Application, ONAH utilized
Docusign, which was managed by First Home Bank, to sign his PPP Application documents
for Advance Nanofocus, using a wireless device with the IP address 74.69.58.61.

28. Based on the representations that ONAH made and caused to be made on the First
Home PPP Application, Advance Nanofocus received a PPP loan for $72,000 from First
Home Bank and the loan was guaranteed by the SBA.

29.  Onor about July 1, 2020, HSBC 2273 received an ACH credit for $72,000 from First
Home Bank marked as “PPP Proceeds.” Prior to receiving the PPP loan for $72,000 into
HSBC 2273, Advance Nanofocus had approximately $30.00 in the checking account.

30. During the review of this loan, an SBA Loan Production Manager at First Home Bank,
emailed ONAH regarding the aforementioned PPP loan from Fundbox. Specifically, on July
9, 2020, the Loan Production Manager emailed ONAH: “We've been made aware by the
SBA that you’ve received 2 PPP loans, one from First Home Bank and one from Fundbox.
You are required to return one set of funds.” Later on July 9, 2020, ONAH responded, “T
did not receive 2 PPP, only one from first home bank, fund box did not fund Advance
NanoFocus Inc. I informed fund box yesterday through their worker that I have canceled
their deal and decided to keep the funds from First Home Bank.” On July 10, 2020, ONAH
again emailed the Loan Production Manager saying, “Thanks ..., yes I canceled from
Fundbox and chose your organization.”

31. In fact, as described in paragraphs 14-21, supra, ONAH had not canceled his PPP
application with Fundbox and had received a PPP loan from Fundbox on or about July 20,
2020. After receiving the second PPP loan for Advance Nanofocus, he did not return funds
to either Fundbox or to First Home Bank.

32. After receiving the PPP loan deposits of $72,000 from First Home Bank and
$72,083.32 from Fundbox to HSBC 2273, the account made the following disbursements:
Date Amount Paid/Sent To

07/02/2020 $10,926.00 Check No. 102

07/16/2020 $25,000.00 Black Lion Investment Partners


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 8 of 14

07/21/2020 $70,000.00 Othniel Management

07/21/2020 $11,000.00 Capital One/ONAH Credit Card
07/27/2020 $11,205.00 Hexagon Corporate

07/27/2020 $2,390.00 Hexagon Corporate

07/29/2020 $60,000.00 Othniel Management

07/30/2020 $10,000.00 LS Paralegal Services LLC/Lin Swain

First Home Bank PPP Loan Number 4479048208 in the Name of FONA —
Declined by First Home Bank
33. On or about August 5, 2020, ONAH submitted another PPP Borrower Application
Form (SBA Form 2483) to First Home Bank on behalf of FONA (the “FONA First Home
PPP Application”).
34. The FONA First Home PPP Application listed ONAH as the owner of FONA; the

business address as ONAH’s residential address; the business phone number as ONAH’s

personal phone number; and email address as ejembi@gmail.com. The FONA First Home
PPP Application submitted to First Home Bank stated that FONA had 3 three employees.
35. Page two of the FONA First Home PPP Application included a list of certifications
statements that must be initialed by the borrower. ONAH initialed all of the certifications,
including the false statement certification quoted in paragraph 17, supra. ONAH signed and
dated the SBA Form 2483 on behalf of FONA on August 5, 2020.

36. As additional support to the FONA First Home PPP Application, ONAH submitted
a 2019 Form 940 (Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment (FUTA) Tax Return) for
Advance Nanofocus and a Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return) for the
second quarter of 2019 for EIN 20-4568221. IRS records confirm that this EIN belongs to
FONA. The Form 941 submitted with the FONA First Home PPP Application identifies the
business name as “Focus Nanotechnology Africa Inc.,” while the Form 940 leaves the
business name blank. Both the Forms 940 and 941 identify a business address that is the same
as ONAH’s residential address. The Form 941 shows three employees receiving total wages
of $86,500.00 during the second quarter of 2019. The Forms 940 and 941 both have a digital
signature for Ejembi ONAH showing that the document was signed on June 19, 2020, but
below these digital signatures, in the date box, “07/07/2019” is typed in red.


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 9 of 14

37. IRS records show that FONA has never filed a Form 940 or Form 941 for either
FONA or for Focus Nanotechnology. The Forms 940 and 941 ONAH provided as part of
the FONA First Home PPP Application for FONA were therefore fictitious documents.

38. Additionally, ONAH submitted what he represented to be statements from FONA’s
Citizens Bank business checking account ending in 8798 (“Citizens 8798”). These statements
encompassed March 1, 2019, through June 30, 2019, and, based on my training and.
experience, appeared to be altered. Records obtained from Citizen’s Bank pursuant to a grand
jury subpoena revealed that Citizens 8798 was in fact opened by ONAH on September 24,
2019—six months after the fabricated statements he used as supporting documentation for
the PPP loan.

39. On September 28, 2020, a First Home Bank representative sent ONAH an email at
ejembi@gmail.com. In this email, the representative stated, in part, the following: “It looks
like your bank account was closed in January. Did you have a statement showing an account
was open and operating in February? The SBA Treasury Guidelines require that businesses
show they were in operation as of 2/15/2020.” A short time later, ONAH responded with
the following:

We are a seasonal organization, so important according to SBA,
we should be operative in any 3 consecutive months for 2019
including February 2020, so the organization was in operation
from April-June 2019 as shown in Form 940 sent but
unfortunately the bank which is Citizensbank only keeps records
for 90 days, so the bank records are no longer there including
statements.

Based on my training and experience, I know that Citizens Bank is required by law to keep
records for longer than 90 days, contrary to ONAH’s claim.

40, Later on September 28, 2020, the representative responded to ONAH, “I would still
need bank statements showing that you were operating for a 12-week period between
February 2019 and June 2019 OR a 12-week period between May 2019 and September 15"
2019.” ONAH responded via email:

You don’t need bank statement to determine that, the form 940
is enough as was done for Advance NanoFocus Inc as stated
clearly that payroll is enough even in the document you are
quoting from which is the form 940. I am not new to this, I
already secured PPP loan supplying such information to First


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 10 of 14

Home Bank and secured PPP for Advance NanoFocus Inc
already, please move ahead and process.

41. The First Home Bank representative subsequently sent ONAH, via email, a list of
questions, and ONAH responded to the underlined questions with the following:

e Could you supply us your form 990 filed with the IRS. We have
the IRS notification but would like a copy of the 990.
The form 990 filed was electronic under the limited revenue as a

seasonal organization, IRS allows such filing so the notification is all
that is available

° I saw you filed for a PPP loan on your other business a few
months prior to this application. Was there a reason you didn’t file for
this entity as well?

During that period, the application was misunderstood to one with the
s-Corp but it was clarification later with SBA, so the application was

filed as a separate entity

° Per the SBA Treasury guideline, we will need payroll statements
for one of the seasonal periods I previously specified. Any consecutive
12-week period between February 2019 and June 2019 OR 12-week
period between May 2019 and September 15" 2019.

The payroll statement is the form 940

° The 941 and 940 have problems with their signatures.

Additionally, the dates appear altered. Do you have other official
copies? Do you have documentation to show they were filed with the

IRS?

The signature is my signature electronically signed, just dated the time
I was sending them not the time of 06/19/20 that it was signed, I can
correct that if that is the issue. I can correct the date to agree with date

of signing.

e Line 5C Column 1 ofthe 941 appears miscalculated. Only $1,245
out of the $86,500 appears taxable. How is that possible? Line 5a

Column 1 also appears incorrect for_a similar reason. Could you
explain?
I did copy it erroneously from the payroll software that was my mistake

e It looks like you operated April-June last year. If this is seasonal,
do you have a 941 for 2020? I could include it in the payroll calculations.


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 11 of 14

Covid hit my organization hard so I am waiting for this PPP to pay up

my workers who have worked without pay for this year.
42. On September 29, 2020, the representative emailed ONAH, “[W]e would be able to
review your file if you could supply us with the bank statements and a payroll statement for
Focus Nanotechnology Africa. After having submitted the same documents for both loans,
and with the two companies being very similar, I wouldn’t be comfortable continuing
otherwise.” ONAH responded via email:

I am a scientist, truth and facts are what we deal with: I just sent
my payment to IRS for Advance NanoFocus Inc, tax obligation
has been always satisfied. Please do not read so much meaning
to this, the forms 940 and 941 are the available documents, the
payroll software is for window and cannot be operated with my
Mac now which is my current pc so I tried all I could to fall back
to the documents to put this together. If I have the bank
statements, I could have sent since but because Citizensbank
only keep bank statements for 90 days, I cannot get them for the
said period I repeat, this also happened for the Advance
NanoFOCUS also. Please since you have the correct
information, please move forward to approve, thanks.

43, On October 11, 2020, after numerous email contacts with ONAH regarding the PPP
loan for FONA, First Home Bank denied the loan.

44, As previously stated in this affidavit, a search of IRS records showed that neither
Advance NanoFocus nor FONA has ever filed a Form 940 or Form 941 with the IRS.
Additionally, as outlined in paragraph 38, supra, the Citizens Bank account ONAH refers to
in the email correspondence with First Home Bank was not opened until September 24,
2019—six months after the fabricated statements submitted with this application.

Newtek Small Business PPP Loan Number 4896288505 in the Name of FONA —
Funded/Undisbursed by Newtek Small Business

45. On January 21, 2021, ONAH submitted another PPP Borrower Application Form
(SBA Form 2483) to Newtek Small Business on behalf of FONA (the “Newtek PPP

Application”).
46. The Newtek PPP Application listed ONAH as the owner of FONA; the business
address as ONAH’s residential address; the business phone number as ONAH’s personal


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 12 of 14

phone number; and email address as eonah@fonai.org. The Newtek PPP Application stated
that FONA had three employees.
47. Page two of the Newtek PPP Application included a list of certifications statements
that must be initialed by the borrower. ONAH initialed all of the certifications, including the
false statement certification quoted in paragraph 17, supra. ONAH signed and dated the SBA
Form 2483 on behalf of FONA on January 21, 2021.
48. As additional support to the Newtek PPP Application, ONAH submitted a 2019 Form
941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return) for the second quarter of 2019, listing the
EIN associated with FONA. The Form 941 identified a business address that is the same as
ONAH?’s residential address. The Form 941 shows three employees receiving total wages of
$87,500.00 during the second quarter of 2019. The Form 941 has a handwritten signature for
Ejembi ONAH dated July 5, 2019. As outlined in paragraphs 18, 25, and 36, supra, the Form
941 for FONA for the same time period that was submitted with the prior PPP loan
applications showed wages of $86,500.00 and had a digital signature for ONAH dated June
19, 2020, and a typed date of July 7, 2019 in red.
49. IRS records show that FONA has never filed a Form 941. The Form 941 ONAH
provided as part of the Newtek PPP Application for FONA was therefore a fictitious
document.
50. According to documents included in the Newtek PPP Application, ONAH utilized
“Docusign,” which was managed by Newtek Small Business, to sign the Newtek PPP
Application documents for FONA using a wireless device with the IP address 74.69.58.61.
51. Based on the representations that ONAH made and caused to be made on the Newtek
PPP Application, FONA was approved for a PPP loan totaling $72,900 from Newtek Small
Business and the loan was guaranteed by the SBA. As of March 16, 2021, this loan remains
“Active and Undisbursed.”

ADDITIONAL CARES ACT APPLICATIONS
52. In addition to the above-described PPP loan applications, ONAH prepared and
submitted the following PPP and EIDL loan applications:

Primary Loan Status Loan Servicing Bank Email Loan Status

Borrower Date Type


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH

Document 1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 13 of 14

Advance. July 8, 2020 PPP Fundbox, Inc. ejembi@gmail.com | Fully Canceled

NanoFocus

Advance March 3, 2021 | PPP Newtek Small ejembi@gmail.com | Fully Canceled

NanoFocus Business

FONA June 13,2020 | EIDL | SBA eonah@fonai.org | No Grant
Received.

Advance April 1,2020 | EIDL | SBA eonah@fonai.org | $2,000 Grant

Nanofocus Received

FONA April 1,2020 | EIDL | SBA eonah@fonai.org | No Grant
Received.

53. Based on my review of SBA records, I know that ONAH received a $2,000 grant based

on his April 1, 2020 EIDL loan application. The EIDL Application listed ONAH as the
owner of Advance Nanofocus; the business address as ONAH’s residential address; the
business phone number as ONAH’s personal phone number; and email address as
eonah@fonai.org.

54,
Application, Advance Nanofocus received a EIDL grant for $2,000 from the SBA.

55. On or about June 8, 2020, the HSBC 2273 account received an ACH credit for $2,000
from marked as “SBAD TREAS 310 —- MISC PAY.” Your affiant knows this to be the ACH
wording for the EIDL loan.

Based on the representations that ONAH made and caused to be made on the EIDL

56. After receiving the deposits of $2,000 from the SBA to HSBC 2273, ONAH made the
following disbursements:
Date Amount Paid/Sent To
06/16/2020 $1,500.00 Check No. 151
06/18/2020 $203.25 ATM Cash
06/18/2020 $203.25 ATM Cash
CONCLUSION

57.1 believe the foregoing establishes probable cause to believe that the defendant,
EJEMBI ONAH committed wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section
1343, and money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957.

Accordingly, I respectfully request that the Court authorize the filing of this complaint so that


Case 3:22-cr-00082-DNH Document1 Filed 04/02/21 Page 14 of 14

the defendant may be charged and brought to court for further proceedings in accordance

with the law.

I, the Honorable Miroslav Lovric, United States
Magistrate Judge, hereby acknowledge that this
affidavit was attested by the affiant by telephone
on April and 2021, in accordance with Rule 4.1
of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure.

Wee foe (e -
Yih rite.” gw Ut

Hon. Miroslav Lovric
United States Magistrate Judge

J
/

ATTESTED TO BY THE AFFIANT

Brad Brechler
Special Agent
Homeland Security Investigations

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