Court filing
Criminal Complaint — United States v. Burden (Dkt. 1, N.D. Cal.)
Summary
A criminal complaint on Form AO 91 in United States v. Christina Burden, Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, filed February 3, 2021 as Document 1. It charges Burden with bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 on or about June 20, 2020 in the county of Alameda, and rests on the attached affidavit of Alofagia Onciano, a Special Agent of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration. The affidavit states that between April and June of 2020 Burden sought more than $4.6 million in Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan loans for at least four companies and obtained more than $1.1 million, including $684,375 for Blessing Box Co LLC from Cross River Bank. It alleges false statements about revenue, payroll, employees and dates of existence, and spending on luxury items and privately chartered flights.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Filed February 3, 2021 in Christina Burden; one of 4 filings from this case.
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2021-02-03 |
Cite this document
“Criminal Complaint — United States v. Burden (Dkt. 1, N.D. Cal.).”
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, No. 4:21-cr-00362, Doc. 1, filed 2021-02-03. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/court-filings/us-v-christina-burden/2021-02-03-criminal-complaint-dkt-1/
, SHA-256 7579b16a69df4519c45042882ae75fce8cdb97fa486c801d502b359e5a80bf6a.Full text
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 1 of 18
AO 91 (Rev. 11/11) Criminal Complaint
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
for the
Feb 03 2021
Northern District
__________ DistrictofofCalifornia
__________
United States of America )
v. )
Christina Burden
) Case No. PM0$*
)
)
)
)
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 June 20, 2020 in the county of Alameda in the
Northern District of California , the defendant(s) violated:
Code Section Offense Description
18 U.S.C. 1344 Bank Fraud
Maximum Penalties: 30 years imprisonment; $1,000,000 fine; 3 years
supervised release; $100 special assessment; forfeiture
This criminal complaint is based on these facts:
See attached affidavit of TIGTA Agent Alofagia Onciano
✔ Continued on the attached sheet.
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$SSURYHGDVWRIRUPV$EUDKDP)LQH BBBBBB Complainant’s signature
$86$$%5$+$0),1( Alofagia Onciano, TIGTA
Printed name and title
$WWHVWHGWRE\WKHDSSOLFDQWLQDFFRUGDQFHZLWKWKHUHTXLUHPHQWVRI
)HG5&ULP3E\SKRQH
Date: )HEUXDU\
Judge’s signature
City and state: San Jose, California Hon. Virginia DeMarchi
Printed name and title
Print Save As... Attach Reset
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 2 of 18
AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
I, Alofagia Onciano, Special Agent, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration
(“TIGTA”), being duly sworn, hereby state:
INTRODUCTION AND AGENT BACKGROUND
1. I submit this affidavit in support of a criminal complaint charging CHRISTINA
BURDEN (“BURDEN”) with the crime of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344.
Between April and June of 2020, BURDEN sought more than $4.6 million in Paycheck
Protection Program (“PPP”) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) loans for at least four
companies and actually obtained more than $1.1 million in loan proceeds on behalf of those
companies. As specifically charged herein, on or about June 20, 2020, BURDEN, on behalf of
her company Blessing Box Co LLC, applied for and later received $684,375 as a loan from
Cross River Bank, an FDIC insured financial institution. BURDEN’s loan applications,
however, contained myriad false statements about the companies’ revenue, payroll, number of
employees, and the companies’ dates of existence, among many others. As set forth below, our
investigation has revealed that despite claiming upwards of 89 employees and hundreds of
thousands of dollars in monthly revenue, BURDEN’s companies do not appear to do any
legitimate business nor have any employees. Once BURDEN received the fraudulently obtained
funds, she used the money to go on a shopping spree, which included purchasing luxury items
from Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, and Nordstrom, privately chartered flights, and a boat
rental. In addition, BURDEN sent money to other individuals who in turn purchased a couple of
luxury automobiles.
2. I am a Special Agent for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration,
where I have been employed since January 2017. I am assigned to the Western Field Division in
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 3 of 18
Oakland, California. My duties and responsibilities include investigations of fraud, waste, and abuse
related to the IRS. My duties also include the investigation of alleged criminal violations relating to the
Internal Revenue Laws (Title 26 of the United States Code) and various criminal offenses related to
Title 18 of the United States Code. I successfully completed the Criminal Investigator Training
Program at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center and the Special Agent Basic Training
Program at the TIGTA Training Academy, both located in Glynco, Georgia.
3. Prior to my current position as a Special Agent, I was employed as an IRS Revenue
Officer from 2009 to 2017. As a Revenue Officer, I conducted work related to collecting
delinquent taxes, surveying for unreported taxes, and securing delinquent returns. I received
training in federal tax law, general business practices, to survey for unreported taxes, and to
recognize potential fraud. In 2009, I graduated from the University of the Pacific with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in political science.
4. The facts set forth in this Affidavit are based on my personal knowledge;
knowledge obtained from other individuals during my participation in this investigation,
including federal law enforcement agents; interviews of witnesses; examination of documents,
records and communications; review of information contained within government databases; and
information gained through my training and experience.
5. This affidavit does not include each and every fact known to the government, but
only those facts necessary to support a finding of probable cause to support the requested
warrant.
RELEVANT STATUTES
6. Title 18 United States Code, Section 1344, reads in pertinent part:
“Whoever knowingly executes, or attempts to execute, a scheme or artifice (1) to defraud a
financial institution; or (2) to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, or
2
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 4 of 18
other property owned by, or under the custody or control of, a financial institution, by means
of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises; shall be fined not more than
$1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.”
FACTS SUPORTING PROBABLE CAUSE
The Paycheck Protection Program
7. The CARES Act is a federal law enacted in or around March 2020 and designed to
provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering the
economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the
CARES Act was the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses
for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the PPP. In or
around April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding. The PPP is
administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (“SBA”), which is an executive agency
of the United States.
8. To obtain a PPP loan, a business must submit a PPP loan application (SBA Form
2483), which is signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan application
requires the business (through its authorized representative) to acknowledge the program rules
and to make certain affirmative certifications regarding its eligibility.
9. One affirmative certification required by the form relates to the ownership of other
businesses by the Applicant or any owner of the Applicant. Question Three on SBA Form 2483
reads: Is the Applicant or any owner of the Applicant an owner of any other business, or have
common management with, any other business? If yes, list all businesses and describe the
relationship on a separate sheet identified as addendum A. There is an option to check “Yes” or
“No” in response to Question Three.
3
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 5 of 18
10. The PPP loan application requires the authorized representative to certify, in good
faith, the Applicant’s operating status by initialing on a line next to the statement:
“The Applicant 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.”
11. The PPP loan application also requires the authorized representative to certify, in
good faith, the accuracy of information and documents submitted by placing initials next to the
statement:
“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, including under 18 USC 1001 and 3571 by
imprisonment of not more than five years and/or a fine of up to $250,000; under 15
USC 645 by imprisonment of not more than two years and/or a fine of not more than
$5,000; 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.”
12. In the application, the authorized representative of the Applicant must also provide,
among other things, the business: (a) average monthly payroll expenses; and (b) the number of
employees. These figures are used to calculate the business’s eligibility and the amount of
money it may receive under the PPP. Additionally, a business applying for a PPP loan must
provide documentation showing their payroll expenses.
13. A PPP loan application must be processed by a participating lending financial
institution. If the participating financial institution approves a loan application, it funds the loan
using its monies, which are l00% guaranteed by the SBA. Participating financial institutions
require the information provided in PPP loan applications to be truthful, including information
about the business employees and payroll expenses.
4
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 6 of 18
14. Information from the application, including information about the borrower, the
total amount of the loan, and the listed number of employees, is transmitted by the lending
financial institution to the SBA in the course of processing the loan.
15. PPP loan proceeds must be used by the business for payroll costs, interest on
mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be
forgiven if the business spends the loan proceeds on these items within a designated period of
time (usually within twenty-four weeks of receiving the proceeds) and uses at least 60% of the
PPP loan proceeds for payroll expenses.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program
16. The SBA, through its Office of Disaster Assistance (“ODA”), provides financial
assistance to businesses of all sizes, most private non-profit organizations, homeowners, and
renters following a declared disaster. SBA also provides eligible small businesses necessary
working capital to help overcome the economic injury of a declared disaster. Section 7(b)(2) of
the Small Business Act, as amended, authorizes the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan
(“EIDL”) Program. The SBA can make loans to eligible small businesses, eligible non-profit
organizations, and eligible small agricultural cooperatives located in a disaster area that suffered
substantial economic injury as a result of a disaster. The EIDL program provides low-interest
financing to small businesses, renters, and homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters.
17. On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States determined that the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic is of sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant an emergency
determination under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency
Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207 (“Stafford Act”). Consequently, SBA has declared all
states and territories eligible for EIDL assistance. An EIDL loan associated with COVID-19
5
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 7 of 18
receives automatic payment deferment for one-year, automatic deferment of previous disaster
loans for homeowners and businesses through 2020, and a six-month deferment any current SBA
7(a) loan, 504 loan, or Microloan.
18. 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.
19. The SBA relies upon the self-certifications contained in the application to verify
that the applicant is an eligible entity to receive the EIDL and/or EIDL Advance. The self-
certification section reads:
“CERTIFICATION AS TO TRUTHFUL INFORMATION: By signing this application,
you [the applicant] certify that all information in your application and submitted with
your application is true and correct to the best of your knowledge, and that you will
submit truthful information in the future. “WARNING: Whoever wrongfully misapplies
the proceeds of an SBA disaster loan shall be civilly liable to the Administrator [of the
SBA] in an amount equal to one-and-one half times the original principal amount of the
loan under 15 U.S.C. 636(b). In addition, any false statement or misrepresentation to the
SBA may result in criminal, civil or administrative sanctions including, but not limited
to: 1) fines and imprisonment, or both, under 15 U.S.C. 645, 18 U.S.C. 1001, 18
U.S.C. 1014, 18 U.S.C. 3571, and any other applicable laws; 2) treble damages and civil
penalties under the False Claims Act, 31 U.S.C. 3729; 3) double damages and civil
penalties under the Program Fraud Civil Remedies Act, 31 U.S.C. 3802; and 4)
suspension and/or debarment from all Federal procurement and non-procurement
transactions.”
20. EIDL applications are submitted directly to the SBA through the SBA COVID-19
web portal and processed by the agency with support from a government contractor, Rapid
Finance. The amount of the loan, if the application is approved, is determined based, in part, on
the information provided by the application about employment, revenue, and cost of goods, as
described above. Any funds issued under an EIDL or advance are issued directly by the SBA.
6
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 8 of 18
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 Paycheck Protection Program, the EIDL funds cannot be used for the same purpose as
the Paycheck Protection Program funds.
Relevant Individual and Entities
21. BURDEN applied for loans on behalf of four companies, three of which were
created after the cut-off date, as established by the CARES Act, requiring a business to be have
been in operation before February 15, 2020 to be eligible for PPP loans.
Approximate
DateRegistered Date
withthe Registered Numberof
California withthe Employees
CompanyName PrincipalName SecretaryofState IRS Claimed
1 BURDENCONSULTINGGROUPLLC CHRISTINABURDEN 01/13/2020 01/29/2020 0and151
2 BLESSINGBOXCOLLC CHRISTINABURDEN 04/24/2020 04/29/2020 13and892
3 PINKIE’SPLACE CHRISTINABURDEN N/A 06/18/2020 N/A
4 CREATIVESYNERGYGROUP CHRISTINABURDEN N/A 06/19/2020 15
22. BURDEN listed herself as the authorized representative and either president, owner
or founder of the four companies that applied for PPP loans.
23. I conducted an Internet search for these businesses and found no record of any
operating websites for the four entities.
24. BURDEN was a resident of Oakland, California at all times relevant to the events
described herein. Three of the four companies registered with the Internal Revenue Service
using the address of BURDEN’s apartment in Oakland, California. Six of the eleven
1
On Burden Consulting Group’s application to SBA, the number of employees listed is 0. On the PPP application
submitted to Blue Vine, the number of employees listed is 15.
2
On Blessing Box’s PPP application to Blue Vine, it listed 13 employees. On the three PPP applications to Divvy
Pay, First Home Bank, and Kabbage, it listed 89 employees.
7
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 9 of 18
applications were submitted from an Internet Protocol address registered to BURDEN at the
Oakland apartment.
The Lending Federal and Financial Institutions
25. The SBA ODA controls the EIDL program and is headquartered at 409 3rd Street
SW, Washington, DC 20416. The ODA has authority over all loans created and disbursed under
the EIDL program. EIDL principle proceeds and available Cash Advance Grants (up to $10,000)
are solely funded by the SBA and are disbursed from government-controlled accounts
maintained with the U.S. Treasury at Federal Reserve Banks throughout the United States.
26. Blue Vine partnered with Celtic Bank to process PPP loan applications. Celtic
Bank is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insured bank located in Salt Lake
City, Utah. Celtic Bank participated in the SBA’s PPP as a lender and, as such, was authorized
to lend funds to eligible borrowers under the terms of the PPP.
27. Kabbage and Divvy Pay partnered with Cross River Bank to process PPP loan
applications. Cross River Bank is an FDIC insured bank located in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Cross
River Bank participated in the SBA’s PPP as a lender and, as such, was authorized to lend funds
to eligible borrowers under the terms of the PPP.
Summary of BURDEN’s Fraudulent Loan Applications
28. The government has obtained, and I have reviewed, copies of 11 loan applications
that were submitted by BURDEN. Each of those loan applications contained myriad materially
false statements. Specifically, the loan applications contained the following:
x False statements regarding ownership of other businesses. Despite owning several businesses
(as evidenced by her many loan applications), BURDEN checked the box on DWOHDVWWKUHH
applicationVindicating that she did not own any other businesses.
x False statements regarding the dates of operation of the subject entities. BURDEN affirmed
that WKH business was in operation before February 15, 2020 RQDWOHDVWWKUHHDSSOLFDWLRQV
despite the fact that three of theHQWLWLHVZHUHUHJLVWHUHGDIWHUWKDWGDWH
8
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 10 of 18
x False statements regarding the number of employees and monthly payroll expenses. 2QDWOHDVW
WKUHHDSSOLFDWLRQV BURDENaffirmed that her businesses had upwards of 89 employees and
monthly payroll northof $700,000. A review of BURDEN’s entities’ tax records reveal,
however, that none of themhas ever paid any payroll taxes or submitted payroll tax forms. And
a review of the bankrecords make clear that the money BURDEN received from the loan
applications was not usedfor payroll.
x Doctored bank records. $WOHDVWILYHRIBURDEN’s applications contained bank records
supposedly supporting the entities’ claims regarding payroll expenses. A review of the actual
bank records from BURDEN and her entities, however, demonstrate that the bank records
submitted in support of the loans were fraudulent.
x Doctored tax forms. $WOHDVWHLJKWRI of BURDEN’s loan applications contained tax forms
(Form940, Form 941, or Form W-3) supposedly showing payroll taxes supporting the number
ofemployees and payroll she claimed. A review of the various entities’ tax records, however,
show that none of them ever filed such payroll forms with the IRS.
BURDEN’s June 20, 2020, Fraudulent PPP Loan Application on Behalf of Blessing Box
29. On or about June 20, 2020, BURDEN submitted a PPP loan application on behalf
of Blessing Box for the amount of $684,375 to Kabbage, who partnered with Cross River Bank to
process PPP loan applications. Cross River Bank is an FDIC insured bank located in Fort Lee,
New Jersey. On the application, Blessing Box listed average monthly payroll of $273,750 with 89
employees. On the application, BURDEN is listed as the founder (with 90% of the equity) and the
business’s address is listed as BURDEN’s apartment in Oakland. The loan was approved and the
funds were disbursed to BURDEN’s personal bank account.
30. On the application, BURDEN made a checkmark in the box under the column
“No” to certify that she is not an owner of any other business, or has common management with,
any other business.
31. On the application, BURDEN certified that Blessing Box was in operation and had
89 employees as of February 15, 2020. However, according to California Secretary of State
records, Blessing Box was not organized with the California Secretary of State until April 24,
9
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 11 of 18
2020.
32. To further support the loan application, BURDEN submitted document purporting
to be Blessing Box’s IRS Form W-3 for 2019. The form reported the total compensation paid in
2019 was $8,900,000 to 89 employees. However, as indicated above, Blessing Box was not
registered to do business until April of 2020. A review of Blessing Box’s tax records revealed
that it never filed a Form W-3 with the IRS. As such, there is probable cause to believe the IRS
form BURDEN submitted in support of the loan application was fraudulent. Furthermore, our
investigation, based on subpoenaed records and Internet research, has revealed that Blessing Box
does not appear to have any employees and does not appear to do any legitimate business.3
BURDEN’s Other Fraudulent Loan Applications
33. The following chart lists the loan applications BURDEN submitted between April
and June of 2020 (including the Blessing Box loan application described above), followed by a
summary of the false statements contained in some of those loan applications.
3
Although BURDEN submitted a trademark application for the mark “Blessing Box” on June 11, 2020 with the
United States Patent and Trademark Office, Blessing Box does not appear to do any legitimate business and does not
appear to have any employees.
10
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 12 of 18
Approximate
Dateof Financial Amount
Application CompanyName Program Institution Status Sought
1 04/07/2020 BURDENCONSULTINGGROUPLLC EIDL SBA FUNDED $150,900.00
2 05/17/2020 BURDENCONSULTINGGROUPLLC PPP CelticBank FUNDED $307,916.00
3 06/04/2020 BLESSINGBOXCOLLC PPP CelticBank REJECTED N/A
4 06/11/2020 BLESSINGBOXCOLLC PPP CrossRiverBank DENIED $1,854,166.67
5 06/13/2020 BLESSINGBOXCOLLC PPP CelticBank REJECTED N/A
6 06/18/2020 BLESSINGBOXCOLLC PPP FirstHomeBank DENIED $1,700,000.00
7 06/19/2020 PINKIESPLACE PPP CelticBank REJECTED N/A
8 06/19/2020 PINKIESPLACE PPP CelticBank CANCELLED N/A
9 06/19/2020 PINKIESPLACE PPP CelticBank CANCELLED N/A
10 06/19/2020 CREATIVESYNERGYGROUP PPP CelticBank CANCELLED N/A
11 06/20/2020 BLESSINGBOXCOLLC PPP CrossRiverBank FUNDED $684,375.00
TOTAL $4,696,637.67
EIDL Application to the SBA on behalf of Burden Consulting Group
34. On or about April 7, 2020, BURDEN submitted an EIDL loan application for $150,000
to the SBA, on behalf of Burden Consulting Group. The application listed the business industry as
“Retail” and “ClothingApparel,” and the number of employees as of January 31, 2020 as zero. The
loan was approved, and the funds were disbursed to BURDEN on or about June 16, 2020.
35. On the application, BURDEN listed Burden Consulting Group’s gross revenues for
the twelve month period prior to January 31, 2020 as $856,000 and their cost of goods sold for
the same period as $121,000. I have reviewed tax records confirming that Burden Consulting
Group has never submitted a tax return to the IRS. The earliest date Burden Consulting Group
existed is January 13, 2020, when it was organized with the California Secretary of State. As
such, BURDEN claimed on the application that Burden Consulting Group had amassed, within
two weeks of creation, $856,000 in gross receipts and $121,000 in cost of goods sold. However,
a review of BURDEN’s bank records did not reveal any such income or spending. In fact, there
is no indication that BURDEN or Burden Consulting Group is involved in any type of business.
11
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 13 of 18
PPP Application on behalf of Burden Consulting Group
36. On or about May 17, 2020, BURDEN submitted a PPP loan application on behalf of
Burden Consulting Group for the amount of $307,916 to Blue Vine, which partnered with Celtic
Bank to process PPP loan applications. Celtic Bank is a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(“FDIC”) insured bank located in Salt Lake City, Utah. On the application, Burden Consulting
Group listed an average monthly payroll of $123,166.60 with 15 employees. Under the Applicant
Ownership Section of the PPP application that states, “List all owners of 20% or more of the equity
of the Applicant” BURDEN lists her title as “Owner” with 100% ownership.
37. On Form 2483 of the application, BURDEN made a checkmark in the box under the
column “No” to certify that she is not an owner of any other business, or has common
management with, any other business. This was false. As demonstrated by BURDEN’s other loan
applications, BURDEN was fully aware that she owned other businesses.
38. On the application, through the placement of her initials, BURDEN certified that
Burden Consulting Group 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. To further support the loan application, BURDEN submitted documents purporting to be
Burden Consulting Group’s 2019 IRS Forms 941. According to IRS records, however, Burden
Consulting Group has never filed an IRS Form 941. And as stated above, Burden Consulting
Group did not register to do business until January of 2020. Thus, there is probable cause to
believe the IRS Forms 941 submitted in support of Burden Consulting Group’s PPP loan
application were fraudulent.
39. To support the payroll obligations claimed in the loan application, BURDEN
submitted copies of two Navy Federal Credit Union (“NFCU”) bank statements: (1) a
12
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 14 of 18
Burden Consulting Group business account statement for February 11, 2020 to February 28,
2020, and (2) a personal account statement for April 11, 2020 to May 10, 2020. Records
received from NFCU pursuant to a subpoena revealed that the Burden Consulting Group
business account statement provided was fraudulently altered. Specifically, it appears that
BURDEN’s April 11, 2020 to May 10, 2020, personal account statement was altered to make it
appear that it is a business statement for Burden Consulting Group. (Some pages of the
purported Burden Consulting Group statement list February 11, 2020 to February 10, 2020 as
the statement period and other pages list February 11, 2020 to February 28, 2020.) While the
line items on the two statements are largely identical, the dates, names, and previous balance
on the purported Burden Consulting Group statement have been altered. Specifically,
BURDEN altered the statement to make it appear that it is from Burden Consulting Group and
that it had a previous balance of over $700,000.
40. The loan was approved and the funds were disbursed to BURDEN’s personal
NFCU bank account.
PPP Applications on behalf of Blessing Box
41. On or about June 11, 2020, BURDEN submitted a PPP loan application on behalf of
Blessing Box for the amount of $1,854,166.67 to Divvy Pay, which partnered with Cross River
Bank to process PPP loan applications. Cross River Bank is an FDIC insured bank whose
headquarters are located in Fort Lee, New Jersey. On the application, Blessing Box listed average
monthly payroll of $741,666.67 with 89 employees. On the application, BURDEN is listed as the sole
owner. On or about June 14, 2020, Cross River Bank denied the loan application.
42. On the application, BURDEN certified the information provided on the PPP
Calculator as accurate. The PPP Calculator, that accompanied the application, listed 89
13
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 15 of 18
employees as of February 15, 2020. However, according to California Secretary of State
records, Blessing Box was organized with the California Secretary of State on April 24, 2020.
43. To support the application, BURDEN submitted an NFCU statement purportedly
for Blessing Box’s account for a statement period of February 1, 2020 to February 31, 2020.
Records received from NFCU pursuant to a subpoena revealed that the statement BURDEN
provided was fraudulently altered and does not match the bank statements received via
subpoena. In addition, the statement submitted by BURDEN reflects a statement period of
February 1, 2020 to February 31, 2020. February 2020 had 29 days, and there has never been a
year where February had 31 days, further demonstrating that the statement had been altered.
44. To further support the loan application, BURDEN submitted documents purporting
to be Blessing Box’s IRS Forms 940 and W-3 for 2019. Both forms reported the total
compensation paid in 2019 was $8,900,000. In addition, the IRS Form W-3 reported 89
employees in 2019. However, as indicated above, Blessing Box was not registered to do
business until April of 2020. And a review of Blessing Box’s tax records revealed that it never
filed a Form 940 or W-3 with the IRS. Furthermore, our investigation, based on subpoenaed
records and Internet research, has revealed that Blessing Box does not appear to have any
employees and does not appear to do any legitimate business.
45. On or about June 18, 2020, BURDEN signed a PPP loan application that was
submitted on behalf of Blessing Box for the amount of $1,700,000 to First Home Bank. First
Home Bank is an FDIC insured bank located in Mountain Grove, Missouri. That loan
application contained false statements and fraudulent supporting IRS forms nearly identical to
those BURDEN submitted in the application to Divvy Pay on behalf of Blessing Box. On or
about June 24, 2020, First Home Bank declined the loan application.
14
Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 16 of 18
PPP Applications on behalf of Pinkie’s Place and Creative Synergy Group
46. On or about June 19, 2020, BURDEN submitted three PPP loan applications on
behalf of an entity called Pinkie’s Place and one on behalf of an entity called Creative Synergy
Group. According to the California and Texas Secretary of State there are no records of these
entities registered to conduct business. Records from the Internal Revenue Service reveal that
these entities were issued Employer Identification Numbers after the February 15, 2020,
deadline set forth in the CARES Act (both EIN’s were obtained in June 2020, just days before
BURDEN submitted the loan applications on their behalf). None of these applications sought a
specific loan amount, and each was either rejected for incompleteness or cancelled.
BURDEN Spent the PPP Proceeds on Luxury and Personal Items
47. The CARES Act required that PPP funds be used for specific purposes, and on each
PPP loan application, BURDEN certified that:
All SBA loan proceeds will be used only for business-related purposes as specified in the
loan application and consistent with the Paycheck Protection Program Rule…
The funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage
payments, lease payments, and utility payments; as specified under the Paycheck
Protection Program Rule; I understand that if the funds are knowingly used for
unauthorized purposes, the federal government may hold me legally liable, such as for
charges of fraud…
48. Our investigation has revealed that BURDEN did not spend any of the loan
proceeds on legitimate business and payroll expenses. Instead, BURDEN’s bank records reveal
that she spent the bulk of the funds as follows:
o $184,000 on airfare, private jet travel, and hotel expenses;
o $124,000 on luxury purchases from Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, the
San Francisco Giants Dugout Store, Sunglass Hut, Tumi, and Wayfair;
o $16,000 on boat and car rentals
o $14,000 on various restaurant and entertainment expenses;
o In addition, BURDEN wired hundreds of thousands of dollars to individuals who do
not appear to be employees of the businesses or to have any connection to the
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Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 17 of 18
businesses. At least $150,000 of those wired funds was spent on automobiles from
Mercedes, Land Rover, and Nissan.
49. Among these and many other expenditures, some of the largest payments drawn on
the accounts in June through October 2020 are listed below:
Date Description Amount
07/17/2020 XOJET(privatejetchartercompany) $61,992.36
07/19/2020 XOJET $11,385.00
07/29/2020 LouisVuitton $16,267.40
09/05/2020 NeimanMarcus $14,330.05
09/06/2020 LouisVuitton $12,678.76
09/14/2020 LouisVuitton $10,440.68
09/18/2020 LouisVuitton $17,807.13
09/19/2020 XOJET $39,328.97
10/09/2020 FREEDOMJETS(privatejetchartercompany) $34,235.00
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Case 4:21-cr-00362-YGR Document 1 Filed 02/03/21 Page 18 of 18
CONCLUSION
50. Based on my training and experience, and the information provided in this
affidavit, I respectfully submit that there is probable cause to believe that on or about June 20,
2020, within the Northern District of California, CHRISTINA BURDEN violated 18 U.S.C. §
1344 (bank fraud).
I declare under penalty of perjury that the statements above are true and correct to the
best of my knowledge and belief.
V
______________________________
Special Agent Alofagia Onciano
Treasury Inspector General for
Tax Administration
Sworn to before me over the telephone and signed by me pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 4.1
and 4(d) on this
___ day of February, 2021. This application and warrant are to be filed under
seal.
The Honorable Virginia DeMarchi
United States Magistrate Judge
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