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Omnibus Motion to Substitute Restitution Payees and Brief in Support

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Omnibus motion to substitute restitution payees and brief in support in United States v. Darrell Thomas, Teldrin Foster, et al., Criminal Action No. 1:20-CR-00296-JPB, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, Document 1206, filed December 10, 2025. The United States asks for an order under 18 U.S.C. § 3663A substituting the Small Business Administration as restitution payee in place of the lenders Harvest Small Business Finance, CDC Small Business Finance, Cross River Bank, Customers Bank, and Celtic Bank. The motion states that the Small Business Administration purchased the guarantees on the loans and so made the lenders whole. It states that the substitution would not change the balance of the defendants' restitution debts. The signature block is /s/ Vanessa A. Leo.

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“Omnibus Motion to Substitute Restitution Payees and Brief in Support.” Original at ecf.gand.uscourts.gov, No. 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS, Doc. 1206. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/court-filings/us-v-dixon/2025-12-10-omnibus-restitution-motion-dkt-1206/, SHA-256 0cd0abd42c1902912cd7e6780df1dea5800ed3a653554cc86eda89c17bef7e8f.

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Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS Document 1206 Filed 12/10/25 Page 1 of 10

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION

U NITED S TATES OF A MERICA
Criminal Action No.
v.
1:20-CR-00296-JPB
D ARRELL T HOMAS ,
T ELDRIN F OSTER , E T AL .

OMNIBUS MOTION TO SUBSTITUTE RESTITUTION
PAYEES AND BRIEF IN SUPPORT THEREOF
The United States of America, by Theodore S. Hertzberg, United States

Attorney, and Vanessa A. Leo, Assistant United States Attorney for the Northern

District of Georgia, respectfully requests an order substituting the restitution

payees pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3663A, and in support shows:

Background Information

1. On March 29, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic

Security (CARES) Act was enacted into federal law. The CARES Act was designed

to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who were

suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of

relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of guaranteed forgivable

loans to small businesses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).

2. In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business submitted a PPP

loan application, which was signed by an authorized representative of the

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Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS Document 1206 Filed 12/10/25 Page 2 of 10

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 (Smal Business Administration Form 2483), the small business

(through its authorized representative) 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 money the small business was

eligible to receive under the PPP. In addition, businesses applying for a PPP loan

were required to provide documentation confirming their payroll expenses.

3. A PPP loan application was processed by a participating lender. If a

PPP loan application was approved, the participating lender funded the PPP loan

using its own monies. While it was the participating lender that issued the PPP

loan, the loan was 100% guaranteed by the Small Business Administration

(“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.

4. PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by the business on certain

permissible expenses- 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

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Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS Document 1206 Filed 12/10/25 Page 3 of 10

period of time and used a defined portion of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll

expenses.

5. The present case containing twenty (20) defendants initially

commenced on August 4, 2020, by indictment. Each of the 20 defendants entered

negotiated pleas of guilty to various offenses related to fraudulently obtained PPP

loans during the COVID pandemic.

6. This Court imposed criminal monetary penalties on each of the 20

defendants, ordering restitution be paid jointly and severally in this case and in

related criminal cases 1 to the following respective lenders: Harvest Small Business

Finance, CDC Small Business Finance, Cross River Bank, Customers Bank, and

Celtic Bank.

7. The SBA purchased the guarantees on the fraudulently obtained PPP

loans as required by the CARES Act in this case and related criminal cases. The

SBA’s purchase of the guarantees on the fraudulently obtained PPP loans made

the respective lenders whole, and the SBA became subrogated to all rights of the

respective lenders. SBA’s purchase of the guarantees on the fraudulently obtained

PPP loans is detailed in Exhibit 1 attached to this Motion and coincides with the

1 U.S. v. Redding, 1:21-cr-178; U.S. v. Denesseria Slaton, 1:21-cr-179; U.S. v. Gaines, 1:21-cr-206; and U.S. v.

Pyfrom-Foster, 1:23-cr-164.

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Judgment and Commitment entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055). More

specifically, the SBA purchased the following guarantees:

a. Harvest Small Business Finance Loan No. 5333777210 made to Darrell
Thomas and Megan Thomas on behalf of their company, Bellator

Phront Group, Inc., in the amount of $799,955.35. At the time the
Judgment and Commitment was entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt.
1055), the amount due to Harvest Small Business Finance was
$775,956.69. The Certified Statement of Account showing the SBA
purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit A.
b. Harvest Small Business Loan No. 9948117804 made to Derek Parker

on behalf of his company, D. Parker Holdings, Inc., in the amount of
$818,102.00. At the time the Judgment and Commitment was entered
in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to Harvest Small

Business Finance was $793,558.94. The Certified Statement of Account
showing the SBA purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit B.
c. Harvest Small Business Loan No. 9097577901 made to Charmaine

Redding (U.S. v. Redding, 1:21-cr-178) on behalf of her company, All
Star Room & Board Services of Michigan Inc., in the amount of
$750,298.11. At the time the Judgment and Commitment was entered
in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to Harvest Small
Business Finance was $715,826.05. The Certified Statement of Account
showing the SBA purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit C.
d. CDC Small Business Finance Corporation loan No. 5005788003 made
to Ryan Whittley on behalf of his company, ML Exotic Customs, Inc.,

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in the amount of $797,275.000. At the time the Judgment and
Commitment was entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the
amount due to CDC Small Business Finance Corporation was
$773,356.75. The Certified Statement of Account showing the SBA
purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit D.
e. CDC Small Business Finance Corporation loan No. 7688278109 made
to El Hadj Sall on behalf of his company, Bellevie Corp., in the amount
of $823,585.00. At the time the Judgment and Commitment was

entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to CDC
Small Business Finance Corporation was $798,877.45. The Certified
Statement of Account showing the SBA purchased this loan is
attached as Exhibit E.
f. CDC Small Business Finance Corporation loan No. 7071928005 made
to Charles Hill, IV on behalf of his company, Infinite Education

Services, Inc., in the amount of $854,805.00. At the time the Judgment
and Commitment was entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the
amount due to CDC Small Business Finance Corporation was

$829,160.00. The Certified Statement of Account showing the SBA
purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit F.
g. Cross River Bank loan No. 8300887401 made to John Gaines and

Andre Gaines (U.S. v. Gaines, 1:21-cr-206) on behalf of their company,
Gaines Reservation and Travel, in the amount of $806,710.00. At the
time the Judgment and Commitment was entered in Teldrin Foster’s

case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to Cross River Bank was $782,508.70.

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The Certified Statement of Account showing the SBA purchased this
loan is attached as Exhibit G.
h. Cross River Bank loan No. 7871687410 made to Kahlil Gibran Green,
Sr. on behalf of his company, Impact Creations, LLC, in the amount
of $830,000.00. At the time the Judgment and Commitment was
entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to
Harvest Small Business Finance was $805,100.00. The Certified
Statement of Account showing the SBA purchased this loan is

attached as Exhibit H.
i. Cross River Bank loan No. 9327227407 made to Bern Benoit on behalf
of his company, Transportation Management Services, in the amount
of $830,417.00. At the time the Judgment and Commitment was
entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to Cross
River Bank was $805,504.49. The Certified Statement of Account

showing the SBA purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit I.
j. Customers Bank loan No. 3869848006 made to David Belgrave III on
behalf of his company, Continuing Success, Inc., in the amount of

$727,000.00. At the time the Judgment and Commitment was entered
in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to Customers
Bank was $705,190.00. The Certified Statement of Account showing

the SBA purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit J.
k. Customers Bank loan No. 6917877410 made to Ricky Dixon on behalf
of his company, RK Painting Company, in the amount of $775,000.00.

At the time the Judgment and Commitment was entered in Teldrin

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Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to Customers Bank was
$751,750.00. The Certified Statement of Account showing the SBA
purchased this loan is attached as Exhibit K.
l. Celtic Bank loan No. 9096407404 made to Ricky Dixon on behalf of his
company, Lee Operations, LLC, in the amount of $805,813.00. At the
time the Judgment and Commitment was entered in Teldrin Foster’s
case (Dkt. 1055), the amount due to Celtic Bank was $781,638.61. The
Certified Statement of Account showing the SBA purchased this loan

is attached as Exhibit L.

8. The United States contends the SBA is entitled to restitution as

subrogee of the respective lenders: Harvest Small Business Finance, CDC Small

Business Finance, Cross River Bank, Customers Bank, and Celtic Bank in this case

and in related criminal cases.

9. The Clerk of Court should be ordered to substitute the restitution

payee in this case to the SBA as subrogee of the respective lenders pursuant to

Exhibit 1 which coincides with the Judgment and Commitment entered in Teldrin

Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055).

Argument and Application of Law

10. 18 U.S.C. § 3664(f)(1)(A) requires the Court to order restitution in the

full amount of each victim’s loss. The Mandatory Victims Restitution Act defines

a victim as “a person directly and proximately harmed as a result of the

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commission of an offense for which restitution may be ordered.” 18 U.S.C. §

3663A. The SBA suffered proven financial losses as result of fraudulently obtained

PPP loans, yet possesses no hope of being made whole with the judgements as

they currently stand. Thus, the United States recommends substituting the SBA as

restitution payee pursuant to Exhibit 1 which coincides with the Judgment and

Commitment entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055).

11. The United States does not seek to alter the court’s judgment ordering

the defendant’s liability to pay the total amount of restitution originally imposed.

The United States merely requests an adjustment to the disbursement of restitution

payments in compliance with 18 U.S.C. § 3664(j)(1), which provides:

If a victim has received compensation from insurance or any other
source with respect to a loss, the court shall order that restitution be
paid to the person who provided or is obligated to provide the
compensation, but the restitution order shall provide that all
restitution of victims required by the order be paid to the victims
before any restitution is paid to such a provider of compensation.

12. The victim payees comprised of the respective lenders: Harvest Small

Business Finance, CDC Small Business Finance, Cross River Bank, Customers

Bank, and Celtic Bank have received compensation from the SBA. Accordingly,

the United States requests that the Clerk of Court substitute the SBA as the victim

and disburse restitution payments pursuant to Exhibit 1 which coincides with the

Judgment and Commitment entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055).

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13. A proposed order is submitted to the Court contemporaneously for

its consideration.

WHEREFORE, the United States respectfully requests that this Court

substitute the Small Business Administration as the restitution payee in the above-

captioned case pursuant to Exhibit 1 which coincides with the Judgment and

Commitment entered in Teldrin Foster’s case (Dkt. 1055). This amendment would

not change the balance of Defendants’ restitution debts and therefore would not

substantively alter their rights, or the criminal sentences imposed by the court.

Submitted this 10th day of December, 2025.

Respectfully Submitted,

THEODORE S. HERTZBERG
United States Attorney

/s/ Vanessa A. Leo
Vanessa A. Leo
Assistant United States Attorney
Georgia Bar No. 410598
600 United States Courthouse
75 Ted Turner Drive, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
(404) 581-6037
Vanessa.Leo@usdoj.gov

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Case 1:20-cr-00296-JPB-CMS Document 1206 Filed 12/10/25 Page 10 of 10

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

I hereby certify, pursuant to Local Rules 5.1B and 7.1D, that the foregoing

response has been typed using 13-point Book Antiqua font.

/s/ Vanessa A. Leo
VANESSA A. LEO
Assistant United States Attorney

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

This is to certify that on this date, the foregoing document was electronically

filed using the Court’s Electronic Case Filing program, which sends a notice of this

document and an accompanying link to this document to all parties who have

appeared in this case under the Court’s Electronic Case Filing program.

Dated: December 10, 2025

/s/ Vanessa A. Leo
VANESSA A. LEO
Assistant United States Attorney
Georgia Bar No. 410598
600 U.S. Courthouse
75 Ted Turner Drive, S.W.
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
404-581-6037
Vanessa.Leo@usdoj.gov

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