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Information — United States v. Denton, No. 0:21-cr-60171 (S.D. Fla.), Dkt. 20
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An Information as to Cindi Ellis Denton, entered June 21, 2021 as Document 20 in Case No. 0:21-cr-60171-RS in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The Acting United States Attorney charges conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The general allegations describe the Paycheck Protection Program and its loan application process, and the Information then sets out a purpose of the conspiracy, manner and means, and overt acts. It closes with forfeiture allegations.
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“Information — United States v. Denton, No. 0:21-cr-60171 (S.D. Fla.), Dkt. 20.”
Original at ecf.flsd.uscourts.gov, No. 0:21-cr-60171-RS, Doc. 20. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/court-filings/ppp-attempt-conspiracy-legal-filings/undated-gov-uscourts-flsd-594906-20-0-gov-uscourts-flsd-594906-20-0/
, SHA-256 347fb4f14582b3c1ac7825af27d7e25f957d33f76d189b2213aa9bbefe2f1e80.Full text
KS
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 1 of 10
Jun 21, 2021
UNITED STATES DISTRICT CO URT
SO UTH ERN DISTR ICT O F FLOR IDA
21-60171-CR-SMITH/VALLE
Case No.
18U.S.C.j371
18U.S.C.j982
UNITED STATES O F AM ER ICA
VS.
CIND IELLIS DENTO N,
D efendant.
INFO RM ATION
The Acting United StatesA ttorney chargesthat:
G ENER AL ALLEG ATION S
Atalltim es m qterialto thislnform ation:
The Pavcheck Protection Proeram
TheCoronavirusAid,Relief,andEconomicSecurity(EICAllES'')Actwasafederal
. '
law enadqd in or,around M arch 2020 and designed to provide em ergency financialassistance to
'
,' the'm illiohs of A m ericans w ho are suffering the econom ic effects caused by the COV1D-19
'pafldemic.'Onesource'ofreliefprovidedbytheCARESActwastheauthorization offorgivable
'
loanstosmallbusinessesforjobretentionandcertainotherexpenses,throughaprogram referred
toasthePaycheckProtectionProgram (CTPP'').
In orderto obtain a PPP loan,a qualifying businesssubm itted aPPP loan application,
which was signed by àn authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan application
requiredthebusinyss(throughitsauthorizedrepresentative)toacknowledgetheprogram rulesand
'm ake certain àffirm ative certifications in orderto be eligible to obtain the PPP loan. ln the PPP
,
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 2 of 10
loan.
application(SmallBusinessAdministration(6CSBA'')Form 2483),thesmallbusiness(tilrough
itsauthorizedrejresentative)wasrequiredtoprovide,amongotherthings,its:(a)averagemonthly
payrollexpenses;and(b)numberofemployees.Thesefigureswereusedtocalculatetheamount
of m oney the sm all business w as eligible to receive under the PPP. Ii1 addition,businesses
applying foraPPP loan w ererequiredtoprovidedocum entation confirm ing theirpayrollexpenses.
'
A PPP loan application w as processed by a participating lender. lf a PPP loan
application was approvedjthe participating lender funded the PPP loan using its own m onies.
W hile itw as the patticipating lenderthatissued the PPP loan,the loan was 100% guaranteed by
the.SBA . D ata from the application,including inform ation aboutthe borrow er,the totalam ount
ofthe loan,and the listed num berofem ployees,w astransm itted by the lenderto the SBA in the
course ofprocessing the loan.
PPP loan.proceeds were required to be used by the business on certain perm issible
expenses pa#rollcosts,intéreston mortgages,rent,and utilities. The PPP allowedtheinterest
and principalon th'
e PPP loan to be entirely forgiven ifthe business spentthe loan proceeds on
theseexpenseitemsWithiùadesijnatedperiodoftimeandusedadefinedportionofthePPP loan
W oceedsO11Pa#r011expenses.
The D efendantand R elated Entitiesand lndividuals
.
EmeraldJadeSolutions,Inc.(flEmeraldJade'')wasaCaliforniacorporationwith
itslisted principaladdressin Beverly H ills,California.
D efendantCINDI ELLIS D ENTON ,a resident ofRiverside County,California,
wasthe ChiefFinàncialOfficer,Secretary,and sole DirectorofEm erald Jade.
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 3 of 10
Bsnk 1 was a financialinstitution based in SaltLake City,Utah,thatw as insured
bytheFederalDçpositlnsuranceCol-
poration((TDlC'').Bank 1wasanapproved SBA lenderof
PPP loans.
.
'
8..'. Bank Processor 1 was a third-pal-ty com pany processor,based in Redw ood City,
California,thatprocessed PPP loan applications forBarlk 1.
lndividuallw asa residentofBrow ard County,Florida.
Individual2 w gsa residentofBrow ard County,Florida.
Conspiracy to Com m itW ire Fraud
(18U.S.C.j371)
From in '
oraround June2020,through in oraround Septem ber2020,in Brow ard County,
'
.
. .. . in the Southern D istrictofFlorida,and elsew here,the defendant,
CINDIELLISDENTON,
1''''' didwillfully,thatis,withtheintenttoftm hertheobject'
oftheconspiracy,andknowinglycombine,
conspire,.confederate, and agree with lndividual 1,Individual 2, and w ith others know n and
unknowntqtheAdinjUnitedStatesAttolnzeytocommitanoffenseagainsttheUnitedStates,that
is,to,kri/w ingly,and w ith theintentto defraud,devise,and intend to devise,a schem e and artifice
defraud,'ànd to obtain m oney and property by m eans of m aterially false and fraudulent
'pretenses, representations, and prom ises, know ing that the pretenses, representations, and
prom isesw ere false and fraudtzlentwhen m ade,and,forthepurpose ofexecuting the schem e and
' '
. . . artifice,did know ingly transm itand éause to be transm itted,by m eans ofw ire com m unication in
interdtate com m erce,dertain writings,signs,signals,pictures,and sounds,in violation ofTitle 18,
United States Code,Section 1343.
3
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 4 of 10
PUR PO SE OF TH E CO N SPIR ACY
Itw as the purpose ofthe conspiracy forthe defendant and her co-conspirators to '
. unlawfullyenrichthemselvesby,amongotherthings:(a)submittingandcausingthesubmission
.., '., .
.. offalsèahd fraudulentapplicationsforloansand grantsm ade availablethroughtheSBA toprovide
reliefforthe economic bffectscaused by the COVlD-19 landemic,including PPP '
loans;(b)
offering,'paying, ànd receiving kickbacks in return for referring other individuals for the
'
submission offâlseand fraudulentloan applications;and (c)diverting fraud proceedsforthe
'
.. defendant's and corconjpirators'personaluse,the use and benefit ofothers,and to further the
conspiracy.
'
.
'
' ' M ANN ER AND M EAN S OF TH E CO NSPIM CY
. .' .
'
.. :The m anner and.m eans by .w hich the defendant and her co-conspirators sought to p
'
' ' '
. ,. accomplishtheobject'afldpurposeoftheconspiracyincluded,amongothers,thefollowing:
CIN DI ELLIS DENTO N,lndividual 1,Individual2,and other co-conspirators
isubm iged andacaused the subm ission offraudulentPPP loan applications forEm erald Jade and
otherentities,via interstatew ire com m unications.
'
The PPP loan applications subm itted by CINDI ELLIS DENTO N ,lndividual 1,
' '
.. . Irfdividual2,and othercù-conspiratorsforEm erald Jade and otherentitiesincluded falsified bank
'
w
statem ents'ahdpayrolltax form s,am ong otherthings,and falsely and'
fraudulently represented the
borroF ing entities'num berofem ployeesand am ountofm onthly payroll.
. CIN DI ELLIS DEN TON and otherco-conspiratorspaid lndividual1,lndividual
2,and otherco-conspiratorskickbacks in exchange forfacilitating and obtaining fraudulentPPP
loans.
15. As a resultofthe false and fraudulentPPP loan applications subm itted as partof
4
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 5 of 10
this.schem e,Bank 1 and other participating banks disbursed m illions of dollars in PPP loap,
proceeds,w hich w ere transferred to CIN DI ELLIS DENTON ,Individual 1,Individual2,and
otherco-conspiratorsvia interstate w iretransm issions.
O VER T A CTS
ln furtheranceofthéconspiracy,andtoaccomplishitsobjectandpurpose,atleastone'of''
the co-condpirators com m ittçd and caused to be com m itled,in the Southern DistrictofFloridaand
elsewhere,atleastone ofthe following overtacts,am ong others:
O n or aboutJune 1,2020,CIND I ELLIS DENTO N sent Individual 1 an em ail
attaching personal'inform ation and inform ation about Em erald Jade, as w ell as copies of her
' . . . dlivçr's license,SocialSecurity card,and avoided check.
On or about June 2020, CIND I ELLIS DEN TON and Individual 2
îelectronically subm itted and céused the sublnission ofa fraudulent'application fora PPP loan on L'
behalfof.Emerald Jade to Bank .1 through Bank Processor 1 in the am ountof approximately
$491,310.
!
3 On or abogt June 2,2020,CIND I ELLIS DENTO N electronically signed and
initialedaEEpaycheckProtection PrograrpBorrowerApplicationForm ''onbehalfofEmeraldJade,
.
which falsely.
represented thatEperàldJadehad24 employeesandan akeragemonthly payrollof
approxim ately $589,574.
'On or about June 2, 2020, CIND I ELLIS DENTO N forwarded an em ail to
Individual1withthesubject,(iYourPPPfundsareontheway.''
OnoraboutJune4,2020,CINDIELLISDENTON wired approximately $98,262
to Individual 1sfrom an accountatBank of Am erica,which had on the prior day received from
Bank 1thèproceedsofaPPP loantoEmeraldJadeintheamountofapproximately $491,310.
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 6 of 10
On oraboutJune 16,2020,CIND IELLIS DENTO N sentlndividual1 an invoice
viaem ailpurpèrtingto show thatEm eraldJadeowedlndividual1$98,000forconsulting services
in 'order to conèeal the 'trt!e nature of the kickback paym ent to lndividual 1 using PPP loan '
proceeds.
A l1in violation ofTitle 18,United States Code,Section 371.
FORFEITU RE A LLEG ATION S
.'
The allegations contained in this Inform ation are hereby re-alleged and by this
. ' ''reference ftllly incorpcirated herein r
forthe purpose of alleging forfeiture to the U nited States of
. bertain property in which the defendant,CINDI ELLIS DENTO N ,hasan interest.
2. '- Uptm conviction 'of a violation of Title 18,United States.Code,Section 3.
71,as .
'.'
t :.alleged in this Inform atiop, the defendant shall forfeit to the U nited states aily property
.
'
.constitutingjorderived from,'any proceedsthe defendantobtained,directly or'
indirectly,asthe .t
résultofsuchviolationpuksuanttoTitle18,UnitedStatesCode,Section982(a)(2)(A).
lfanyofthepropertysubjecttoforfeiture,asaresultofanyactoromissionofthe
defendant:
cannotbe located upon the exercise ofdue diligence;
hasbeen transferred orsoldto,ordepositedwith,athirdparty;
hasbeenplacedbeyondthejurisdictionofthecourq
-/
hasbeen substantially dim inished in value;or
hasbeen cdmmingledwith otherpropertywhich cannotbedividedwithoutdifficulty,,
'
theO nited St>tes shallbe entitled to the forfeiture of substitute property '
underthe provisiorfs of
Title21,UnitedStatesCode,Seciion853(p).
6
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 7 of 10
AIlpursuanttoTitlel8,UnitedStatesCode,Section982(a)(2)(A),andtheproceduresset
forth in Title 2l,United StatesCode,Section 853,asincorporated by Title l8,United StatesCode,
Section982(b)(1).
Ax
for JUAN ANTONZ GONZALEZ DA NIE S.K HN
A CTIN G UN ITED STATES A TTORN EY A CTIN CH I F,FRAU D SECTION
@
LIND SEY LAZO O U OS FRIEDM AN PHILP B. RO
A SSISTAN T ITED TA TES AU ORN EY TIUA L AU O EY,FRAUD SECTION
7
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 8 of 10
UNITED STATESDISTRICT COURT
' SOUTH ER N DISTRICT O F FLORIDA '
UNITED STATESOF AM ERICA CASE NO.
V.
CINDIELLIS DENTON, C ERTIFICATE O F TRIAL ATTO RN EY*
SupersedingCaselnformytion:
Defendant/
CourtDivision:tselectOne) Newdefendantts) I--IYes I--INo
r-lMiami r-lKeyWest 1- 771FTL Numberofnewdefendants
I--IWPB F-IFTP Totalnumberofcounts
1.Ihavecarefully considered theallegationsoftheindictm ent,thenumberofdefendants,thenpmberofproh ble
witnessesand thelegalcom plexitiesofthelndictm ent/lnform ation atachedhereto.
2.1nm awarethattheinformation suppliedon thisstatem entwillberelied upon by theJudgesofthisCourtin
setlingtheircalendarsandscheduling crim inaltrialsunderthem andate oftheSpeedy TrialAct,
Title28 U .S.C.Section 3161.
3. Interpreter:(YesorNo) No '
Listlanguageand/ordialect
4.Thiscasewilltake 0 daysforthepartiestotry.
5.Pleasecheck appropriatecategory andtypeofoffenselistedbelow:
(Checkonlyone) . (Checkonlyone)
.
I Oto5days nz Petty (71
11 6to10days Eql Minor EEl .
111 11to20days (7l .M isdemeanor & ..
IV 21to60days E7I. Felony Lz
V 61daysandover E7I
6.HastlziscasepreviouslybeenfiledinthisDistrictCourt? (YesorNo) NO
Ifyes:Judge ' CaseNo. .
(Attachcopyofdispositiveorder)
Hasacomplaintbeenfiledinthismatler? (YesorNo)Yes
lfyes:M agistrateCase No. 21-6149-HUNT
Relatedm iscellaneousnumbers:
Defendantts)infederalcustodyasof
Defendantts)instatecustodyasof
Rule20 from theDistrictof
Isthisapotentialdeathpenalty case?(YesorNo) NO
7.Doesthiscase originatefrom amatterpendingintheCentralRegionoftheU.S.Attorney'sOfficepriorto
August9,2013(M ag.JudgeAlicia0.Valle)?(YesorNo) No
8. Doesthiscase originatefrom am atterpendingin theN orthernRegion oftheU .S.Attorney'sOfficepriorto
August8,2014(M ag.JudgeShaniekM aynard?(YesorNo) No
9. Doesthiscase or'iginatefrom am atterpendingin theCentralRegion oftheU.S.Attorney'sOfficepriorto
October3,2019(M ag.JudgeJared Strauss)?(YesorNo) NO '
Lindsey La poulo Friedm an
AssistantUni
te Attorney
FLA BarNo. 091792
*penaltySheetts)attached . REV 3/19/21
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 9 of 10
U NITED STA TES DIST RICT C O UR T
SO U TH ER N DISTRICT O F FLO R ID A
PENA LTY SH EET
D efendant'sN am e: CIN DI ELLIS D EN TO N
C ase N o:
Collnt#:1
Conspiracy to Com m itW ire Fraud
Title 18,U nited States Code,Section 371
*M ax.Penalty:5 years'im prisonm ent
*R efers qnly to possible term ofincarceration,does notinclude possible fines,restim tion,
specialassessm ents,parole term s,or forfeituresthatm ay be applicable.
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS Document 20 Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021 Page 10 of 10
AO455(Rev.01/09)WaiverofanIndictment
U NITED STATES D ISTRICT C OURT
forthe
Southern DistrictofFlorida
United StatesofAm erica
V. CaseNo.
CindiEllisDenton,
Dejèndant
W AW ER O F A N G D IC TM EN T
IunderstandthatIhavebeen accused ofoneorm oreoffensespunishableby huprisonmentformorethan one
year. lwasadvised in open courtofmy rightsand the nature oftheproposed chargesagainstme.
Afterreceiving thisadvice,1waivemy rightto prosecution by indictm entand consentto prosecution by
information.
Date:
Defendant'
ssiv ature
Signatureofde#ndant'
sattorney
Printednameofde#ndant'
sattorney
Judge'
sprintednameand/f//e
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