Indictment with Forfeiture Provision as to Harrescia Hopkins (1) count(s) 1-2 — USA v. Hopkins (Dkt. 1, N.D. Ga.)

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U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · No. 1:22-cr-00284-SEG-CMS · Doc. 1 · 2022-08-09 · Docket on CourtListener

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ORIGINAL 
; FILED IN OPEN COURT 
U.S.D.C. - Atlanta 
2 
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA 
ATLANTA DIVISION 
AUG 0 9 2022 
KEVIN P. WEIMER, Clerk 
By: 
Deputy Clerk 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
V. 
HARRESCIA HOPKINS  
Criminal Indictment 
No. 1:22d11284 
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT: 
Background 
At all times relevant to this Indictment: 
The Defendant 
1.HARRESCIA HOPKINS ("HOPKINS") was an individual residing in the 
Northern District of Georgia. 
2.Beginning in or about May 2020, Defendant HOPKINS was employed by the 
Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") and worked as a correctional officer at the 
United States Penitentiary Atlanta, Georgia, a medium security facility. 
The Small Business Administration 
3.The United States Small Business Administration ("SBA") was an executive 
branch agency of the United States government that provided support to 
entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the SBA was to maintain and 
strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of 
small businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after 
disasters. 
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4.As part of this effort, the SBA enabled and provided for loans through 
banks, credit unions, and other lenders. These loans had government-backed 
guarantees. 
The Paycheck Protection Program 
5.The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act was a 
federal law enacted in or about March 2020 that was designed to provide 
emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering 
the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 
6.One source of relief that the CARES Act provided was the authorization of 
up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for payroll, mortgage 
interest, rent/lease, and utilities through a program referred to as the Paycheck 
Protection Program ("PPP"). Congress has since authorized additional PPP 
funding. 
7.The PPP allowed qualifying small businesses and other organizations to 
receive PPP loans. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, 
interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest and 
principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spent the loan 
proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time and used a 
certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds for payroll expenses. 
8.The amount of a PPP loan that a small business may have been entitled to 
receive was determined by the number of employees employed by the business 
and the business's average monthly payroll costs. 
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9.In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business was required to submit 
a PPP loan application, which was signed by an authorized representative of the 
business. The PPP loan application required 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) had to 
state, among other things, its (a) average monthly payroll expenses and (b) 
number of employees. These figures were used to calculate the amount of money 
the small business was eligible to receive under the PPP. In addition, businesses 
applying for a PPP loan had to provide documentation showing their payroll 
expense. 
10.The SBA oversaw the PPP. However, individual PPP loans were issued by 
private, approved lenders who received and processed PPP applications and 
supporting documentation, and then made loans using the lenders' own funds, 
which were 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, was transmitted by the lender to the SBA in the course of 
processing the loan. 
Relevant Financial Institution 
11.Financial Institution 1 was a non-bank financial institution and New York 
limited liability company. Financial Institution 1 participated in the SBA's PPP 
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as a lender, and, as such, was authorized to lend funds to eligible borrowers 
under the terms of the PPP. 
Execution of the Scheme - PPP Loan #1 
12.On or about August 3, 2020, Defendant HOPKINS electronically signed and 
submitted, and assisted in the submission of, a PPP Borrower Application Form 
for a business named Hopkins Towing and Storage via the internet to Financial 
Institution 1. The application requested a loan in the amount of $19,100. The 
application stated that the purpose of the loan was payroll; that Hopkins Towing 
and Storage had an average monthly payroll of $7,655; and that Defendant 
HOPKINS was 100% owner of Hopkins Towing and Storage. 
13.In addition, the loan application contained electronically signed initials of 
Defendant HOPKINS to certify each of the following representations: 
a. The Applicant business was in operation on February 15,2020, and 
had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid 
independent contractors, as reported on Form(s) 1099-MISC; 
b. Current economic =certainty makes this loan request necessary to 
support the ongoing operations of the Applicant; 
c. The funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or 
make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and utility 
payments; and 
d. The information provided in the application and in all supporting 
documents and forms is true and accurate in all material respects, 
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and knowingly making a false statement is punishable under the 
law. 
14.In support of the application, Defendant HOPKINS submitted, and assisted 
in the submission of, a falsified IRS Schedule C form for tax year 2019 for 
Hopkins Towing and Storage. That form stated that, in 2019, Hopkins Towing 
and Storage had gross income of $100,525 and net profit of $91,860. 
15.However, Hopkins Towing and Storage was not a real and functioning 
business. Defendant HOPKINS had not filed the Schedule C with the IRS and did 
not report any income by Hopkins Towing and Storage to the IRS for 2019. 
16.On or about August 17,2020, Defendant HOPKINS electronically signed 
and submitted, and assisted in the submission of, via the internet, a U.S. Small 
Business Administration Note for SBA Loan Number 
***8207 in the amount of 
$19,100. 
17.On or about August 26,2020, as a result of the loan application and note 
signed by Defendant HOPKINS, Financial Institution 1 transferred $19,100 into her 
checking account. 
Execution of the Scheme - PPP Loan #2 
18.On or about January 21, 2021, Defendant HOPKINS electronically signed 
and submitted, and assisted in the submission of, a PPP Second Draw Borrower 
Application Form for Hopkins Towing and Storage via the internet to Financial 
Institution 1. The application requested another loan in the amount of $19,100, 
stated that Hopkins Towing and Storage had an average inonthly payroll of 
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$7,640, and again represented that Defendant HOPKINS was 100% owner of 
Hopkins Towing and Storage. In addition, the loan application contained 
electronically signed initials of Defendant HOPKINS certifying each of the 
representations described in paragraph 13 of this Indictment. 
19.In support of the application, Defendant HOPKINS submitted, and assisted 
in the submission of, the same falsified IRS Schedule C form for tax year 2019 for 
Hopkins Towing and Storage described in paragraph 14 of this Indictment. 
20.On or about February 4, 2021, Defendant HOPKINS electronically signed 
and submitted, and assisted in the submission of, via the internet, a U.S. Small 
Business Administration Note for SBA Loan Number "8307 in the amount of 
$19,100. 
21.On or about February 11,2021, as a result of the loan application and note 
signed by Defendant HOPKINS, Financial Institution 1 transferred $19,100 into her 
checking account. 
Count One 
Wire Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and § 2 
22.The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference the factual 
allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 21 of this Indictment as if fully set 
forth herein. 
23.On or about August 3, 2020, in the Northern District of Georgia, the 
Defendant, 
HARRESCIA HOPKINS, 
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aided by others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, for the purpose of 
executing and attempting to execute the aforementioned scheme and artifice to 
defraud, and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and 
fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by omission of material 
facts, did, with intent to defraud, cause to be -transmitted by means of a wire 
communication in interstate and foreign commerce certain writings, signs, 
signals, and sounds, namely, a PPP Borrower Application Form containing false 
information related to the existence and payroll expenses of the business 
Hopkins Towing and Storage and the purpose of the applied-for PPP loan, 
accompanied by falsified tax documentation for 2019. 
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 and Section 2. 
Count Two 
Wire Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1343 and § 2 
24.The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference the factual 
allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 21 of this Indictment as if fully set 
forth herein. 
25.On or about January 21,2021, in the Northern District of Georgia, the 
Defendant, 
HARRESCIA HOPKINS, 
aided by others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, for the purpose of 
executing and attempting to execute the aforementioned scheme and artifice to 
defraud, and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and 
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fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by omission of material 
facts, did, with intent to defraud, cause to be transmitted by means of a wire 
communication in interstate and foreign commerce certain writings, signs, 
signals, and sounds, namely, a PPP Second Draw Borrower Application Form 
containing false information related to the existence and payroll expenses of the 
business Hopkins Towing and Storage and the purpose of the applied-for PPP 
loan, accompanied by falsified tax documentation for 2019. 
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343 and Section 2. 
' Forfeiture 
26. Upon conviction of the wire fraud offenses alleged in Counts One and 
Two of this Indictment, the Defendant, HARRESCIA HOPKINS, shall forfeit to the 
United States, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(2), any 
property, real or personal, constituting or derived from proceeds obtained, 
directly or indirectly, as a result of the violation, including, but not limited to, the 
following: 
a. MONEY JUDGMENT: A sum of money in United States currency 
representing the total amount of money involved in the offense(s) of 
conviction. 
If, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant, any property subject to 
forfeiture, 
(a)cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; 
(b)has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; 
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(c)has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; 
(d)has been substantially diminished in value; or 
(e)has been commingled with other property which cannot be 
divided without difficulty, 
the United States intends, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 
853(p), as incorporated by Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(b), to seek 
forfeiture of any other property of the Defendant up to the value of the 
forfeitable property described above. 
A 
BILL 
Y606) 
 
FOREPERSON 
RYAN K. BUCHANAN 
United States Attorney 
JeY—j 
GARRETT L. 
ADFORD 
Assistant United States Attorney 
Georgia Bar No. 074374 
600 U.S. Courthouse 
75 Ted Turner Drive SW 
Atlanta, GA 30303 
404-581-6000; Fax: 404-581-6181 
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