Criminal Information — United States v. Cindi Ellis Denton

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida · No. 0:21-cr-60171-RS · Doc. 20 · 2021-06-21 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
Case No.
18 U.S.C. j 371
18 U.S.C. j 982
UNITED STATES OF AM ERICA
VS.
CINDI ELLIS DENTON,
D efendant.
INFORM ATION
The Acting United States Attorney charges that:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times mqterial to this lnformation:
The Pavcheck Protection Proeram
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (EICAllES'') Act was a federal
. 
'law enadqd in or,around M arch 2020 and designed to provide emergency financial assistance to
, '' the ' milliohs of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COV1D-19
' pafldemic. 'One source' of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable
'loans to small businesses forjob retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred
to as the Paycheck Protection Program (CTPP'').
In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business submitted a PPP loan application,
which was signed by àn authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan application
required the businyss (through its authorized representative) to acknowledge the program rules and
,'make certain àffirmative certifications in order to be eligible to obtain the PPP loan. ln the PPP
21-60171-CR-SMITH/VALLE
Jun 21, 2021
KS
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 1 of 10

loan.application (Small Business Administration (6CSBA'') Form 2483), the small business (tilrough
its authorized rejresentative) was required to provide, among other things, its: (a) average monthly
payroll expenses; and (b) number of employees. These figures were used to calculate the amount
of m oney the sm all business was eligible to receive under the PPP. Ii1 addition, businesses
'applying for a PPP loan were required to provide documentation confirming theirpayroll expenses.
A PPP loan application was processed by a participating lender. lf a PPP loan
application was approvedj the participating lender funded the PPP loan using its own monies.
W hile it was the patticipating lender that issued the PPP loan, the loan was 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.
PPP loan. proceeds were required to be used by the business on certain permissible
expenses pa#roll costs, intérest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest
and principal on th'e PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on
these expense items Withiù a desijnated period of time and used a defined portion of the PPP loan
W oceeds O11 Pa#r011 expenses.
The Defendant and Related Entities and lndividuals
. Emerald Jade Solutions, Inc. (flEmerald Jade'') was a California corporation with
its listed principal address in Beverly Hills, California.
Defendant CINDI ELLIS DENTON, a resident of Riverside County, California,
was the Chief Finàncial Officer, Secretary, and sole Director of Em erald Jade.
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 2 of 10

Bsnk 1 was a financial institution based in Salt Lake City, Utah, that was insured
by the Federal Dçposit lnsurance Col-poration ((TDlC''). Bank 1 was an approved SBA lender of
PPP loans.
. 
' 8. . ' . Bank Processor 1 was a third-pal-ty company processor, based in Redwood City,
California, that processed PPP loan applications for Barlk 1.
lndividual l was a resident of Broward County, Florida.
Individual 2 wgs a resident of Broward County, Florida.
Conspiracy to Com m it W ire Fraud
(18 U.S.C. j 371)
From in 'or around June 2020, through in or around September 2020, in Broward County,
. 
' 
. 
.. . in the Southern District of Florida, and elsewhere, the defendant,
CINDIELLIS DENTON,
1 ' ' '' ' did willfully, that is, with the intent to ftm her the object'of the conspiracy, and knowingly combine,
conspire,. confederate, and agree with lndividual 1, Individual 2, and with others known and
unknown tqthe Adinj United States Attolnzey to commit an offense against the United States, that
is, to,kri/wingly, and with the intent to defraud, devise, and intend to devise, a scheme and artifice
defraud, ' ànd to obtain m oney and property by means of m aterially false and fraudulent
'pretenses, representations, and prom ises, knowing that the pretenses, representations, and
prom ises were false and fraudtzlent when made, and, for the purpose of executing the scheme and
.
' ' 
. . artifice, did knowingly transm it and éause to be transmitted, by means of wire communication in
interdtate commerce, dertain writings, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds, in violation of Title 18,
United States Code, Section 1343.
3
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 3 of 10

PURPOSE OF THE CONSPIRACY
It was the purpose of the conspiracy for the defendant and her co-conspirators to '
. unlawfully enrich themselves by, among other things: (a) submitting and causing the submission
...., ' ., .of falsè ahd fraudulent applications for loans and grants m ade available through the SBA to provide
relief for the economic bffects caused by the COVlD-19 landemic, including PPP 'loans; (b)
offering, ' paying, ànd receiving kickbacks in return for referring other individuals for the
'submission of fâlse and fraudulent loan applications; and (c) diverting fraud proceeds for the
'
..defendant's and corconjpirators' personal use, the use and benefit of others, and to further the
conspiracy.
. 
'
' ' 
' 
M ANNER AND M EANS OF THE CONSPIM CY
. 
. ' 
.
' 
p
.. : The manner and . means by .which the defendant and her co-conspirators sought to
''
. 
',
'. accomplish the object'afld purpose of the conspiracy included, among others, the following:
CINDI ELLIS DENTON, lndividual 1, Individual 2, and other co-conspirators
isubmiged andacaused the submission of fraudulent PPP loan applications for Em erald Jade and
other entities, via interstate wire communications.
' The PPP loan applications submitted by CINDI ELLIS DENTON, lndividual 1,
' 
' 
. . . Irfdividual 2, and other cù-conspirators for Emerald Jade and other entities included falsified bank
w 
'
statem ents' ahd payroll tax form s, among other things, and falsely and 'fraudulently represented the
borroFing entities' number of employees and amount of monthly payroll.
. CINDI ELLIS DENTON and other co-conspirators paid lndividual 1, lndividual
2, and other co-conspirators kickbacks in exchange for facilitating and obtaining fraudulent PPP
loans.
15. 
As a result of the false and fraudulent PPP loan applications submitted as part of
4
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 4 of 10

this. schem e, Bank 1 and other participating banks disbursed millions of dollars in PPP loap,
proceeds, which were transferred to CINDI ELLIS DENTON, Individual 1, Individual 2, and
other co-conspirators via interstate wire transmissions.
OVERT ACTS
ln furtherance of thé conspiracy, and to accomplish its object and purpose, at least one'of ' '
the co-condpirators comm ittçd and caused to be comm itled, in the Southern District of Florida and
elsewhere, at least one of the following overt acts, among others:
On or about June 1, 2020, CINDI ELLIS DENTON sent Individual 1 an email
attaching personal' information and information about Emerald Jade, as well as copies of her
' 
. 
. 
. 
dlivçr's license, Social Security card, and a voided check.
On or about June 
2020, CINDI ELLIS DENTON and Individual 2
î electronically subm itted and céused the sublnission of a fraudulent'application for a PPP loan on L '
behalf of .Emerald Jade to Bank .1 through Bank Processor 1 in the amount of approximately
$491,310.
! 3
On or abogt June 2, 2020, CINDI ELLIS DENTON electronically signed and
initialed a EEpaycheck Protection Prograrp Borrower Application Form'' on behalf of Emerald Jade,
. which falsely.represented that Eperàld Jade had 24 employees and an akerage monthly payroll of
approximately $589,574.
' On or about June 2, 2020,CINDI ELLIS DENTON forwarded an email to
Individual 1 with the subject, (iYour PPP funds are on the way.''
On or about June 4, 2020, CINDI ELLIS DENTON wired approximately $98,262
to Individual 1 sfrom an account at Bank of America, which had on the prior day received from
Bank 1 thè proceeds of a PPP loan to Emerald Jade in the amount of approximately $491,310.
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 5 of 10

On or about June 16, 2020, CINDI ELLIS DENTON sent lndividual 1 an invoice
via email purpèrting to show that Emerald Jade owed lndividual 1 $98,000 for consulting services
in 'order to conèeal the 'trt!e nature of the kickback payment to lndividual 1 using PPP loan '
proceeds.
Al1 in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
FORFEITURE ALLEGATIONS
. ' The allegations contained in this Information are hereby re-alleged and by this
.' ' ' reference ftllly incorpcirated herein rfor the purpose of alleging forfeiture to the United States of
.bertain property in which the defendant, CINDI ELLIS DENTON, has an 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 United .states aily property
' titutingj or derived from,' any proceeds the defendant obtained, directly or 'indirectly, as the . t
. cons
résult of such violation puksuant to Title 1 8, United States Code, Section 982(a)(2)(A).
lf any of the property subject to forfeiture, as a result of any act or omission of the
defendant:
cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;
has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the courq
-/
has been substantially dim inished in value; or
has been cdmmingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, ,'
the O nited St>tes shall be entitled to the forfeiture of substitute property 'under the provisiorfs of
Title 21, United States Code, Seciion 853(p).
6
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 6 of 10

AIl pursuant to Title l 8, United States Code, Section 982(a)(2)(A), and the procedures set
forth in Title 2 l , United States Code, Section 853, as incorporated by Title l 8, United States Code,
Section 982(b)(1).
for
A x
JUAN ANTONZ  GONZALEZ
ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
LINDSEY LAZO OU OS FRIEDM AN
ASSISTANT 
ITED TATES AU ORNEY
DANIE S. K HN
ACTIN CHI F, FRAUD SECTION
@
PHILP  B. RO
TIUAL AU O EY, FRAUD SECTION
7
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 7 of 10

UNITEDSTATESDISTRICT COURT
' 
SOUTHERNDISTRICT OFFLORIDA 
'
UNITED STATESOFAM ERICA 
CASE NO.
V.
CINDI ELLIS DENTON, 
C ERTIFICATE O F TRIAL ATTO RN EY*
Superseding Case lnformytion:
Defendant/
CourtDivision:tselect One) 
New defendantts) I--I Yes I--I No
r-lMiami r-l Key West 1-71
7 FTL 
Numberof new defendants
I--IWPB F-IFTP 
Totalnumberof counts
1. I have carefully considered the allegations of the indictment, the number of defendants, the npmber of proh ble
witnesses and the legal complexities of the lndictment/lnformation atachedhereto.
2. 1 nm aware that the information supplied on this statem ent will be relied upon by the Judges of this Court in
setling their calendars and scheduling crim inal trials under the m andate of the Speedy Trial Act,
Title 28 U .S.C. Section 3161.
No 
'
3. Interpreter: (Yes or No)
List language and/or dialect
4. This case will take 0 days for the parties to try.
5. Please check appropriate category and type of offense listedbelow:
(Check only one) 
. 
(Check only one)
. 
I O to 5 days 
nz 
P etty 
(71
11 6 to 10 days 
Eql 
Minor 
EEl 
.
111 11 to 20 days 
(7l 
. Misdemeanor 
..&
IV 21 to 60 days 
E7I. 
Felony 
Lz
V 61 days and over 
E7I
6. Has tlzis case previously been filed in this District Court? (Yes or No) NO
If yes: Judge 
' 
CaseNo. 
.
(Attach copy of dispositive order)
Has a complaint been filed in this matler? (Yes or No) Yes
lf yes: M agistrate Case No. 21-6149-HUNT
Related m iscellaneous numbers:
Defendantts) in federal custody as of
Defendantts) in state custody as of
Rule 20 from the District of
Is this a potential death penalty case? (Yes or No) NO
7. Does this case originate from a matter pending in the Central Region of the U.S. Attorney's Office priorto
August 9, 2013 (Mag. Judge Alicia 0. Valle)? (Yes orNo) No
8. Does this case originate from a m atter pending in theN orthern Region of the U .S. Attorney's Office priorto
August 8, 2014 (Mag. Judge Shaniek Maynard? (Yes or No) No
9. Does this case originate from a m atter pending in the Central Region of the U.S. Attorney's Office prior to
' 
d Jared Strauss)? (Yes or No) NO 
'
October 3, 2019 (Mag. Ju ge
Lindsey La poulo Friedm an
Assistant Unite 
Attorney
FLA Bar No. 
091792
*penalty Sheetts) attached 
. 
REV 3/19/21
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 8 of 10

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
PENALTY SH EET
Defendant's Nam e: 
CINDI ELLIS DENTON
Case No:
Collnt #: 1
Conspiracy to Com mit W ire Fraud
Title 18, United States Code, Section 371
*M ax. Penalty: 5 years' im prisonment
*Refers qnly to possible term  of incarceration, does not include possible fines, restim tion,
special assessm ents, parole term s, or forfeitures that m ay be applicable.
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 9 of 10

AO 455 (Rev. 01/09) Waiver of an Indictment
U NITED STATES D ISTRICT C OURT
for the
Southern District of Florida
United States of Am erica
V.
Cindi Ellis Denton,
Case No.
Dejèndant
W AW ER OF AN G DICTM ENT
I understand that I have been accused of one or m ore offenses punishable by huprisonment for more than one
year. l was advised in open court of my rights and the nature of the proposed charges against me.
After receiving this advice, 1 waive my right to prosecution by indictm ent and consent to prosecution by
information.
Date:
Defendant 's sivature
Signature ofde#ndant 's attorney
Printed name ofde#ndant 's attorney
Judge 's printed name and /f//e
Case 0:21-cr-60171-RS   Document 20   Entered on FLSD Docket 06/21/2021   Page 10 of 10

File and source

File

gov.uscourts.flsd.594906.20.0.pdf

Size

1,698,777 bytes

SHA-256

347fb4f14582b3c1ac7825af27d7e25f957d33f76d189b2213aa9bbefe2f1e80

Our copy

gov.uscourts.flsd.594906.20.0.pdf

Original

PACER (login required)