Bill of Information - US v. Eley

Record facts

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana · No. 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR · Doc. 1 · 2023-05-01 · Docket on CourtListener

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
BILL OF INFORMATION FOR CONSPIRACY TO COMMIT WIRE FRAUD
FILED
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VIOLATIONS: 18 U.S.C. $ 371
18 U.S.C. $ 1343
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,1.
The United States Attorney charges that:
COUNT 1
A. 
AT ALL TIMES MATERIAL HEREIN:
1. 
The defendant, SIEDAH ELEY ("ELEY"), was a resident of Columbia,
Maryland.
2. 
ELEY maintained multiple financial accounts, including one at Stride Bank.
3. 
Co-Conspirator 1, Co-Conspirator 2, Co-Conspirator 3, Co-Conspirator 4, Co-
Conspirator 5, Co-Conspirator 6, and Co-ConspiratorT were adult friends, relatives, and associates
of ELEY.
B
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Case 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR   Document 1   Filed 05/01/23   Page 1 of 8

The Small Business Administration
4. 
The United States Small Business Administration ("SBA") was an executive-
branch agency of the United States govemment 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.
5. 
As part of its efforts, the SBA provided business loans through banks, credit unions,
and other lenders. Those loans had government backed guarantees.
The CARES Act
6. 
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") was a
federal law enacted in or about March 2020. The CARES Act provided emergency financial
assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects ofthe COVID-l9 pandemic.
The Paycheck Protection Program
7. 
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 Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP"). In or around April
2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
8. 
In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifuing 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) was
required to state, among other things, its: (a) average monthly payroll expenses; and (b) number
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Case 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR   Document 1   Filed 05/01/23   Page 2 of 8

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 showing their payroll expenses.
9. 
Among the types of businesses eligible for a PPP loan were individuals who
operated under a "sole proprietorship" business structure. In order to be eligible to receive such a
PPP loan, individuals had to report and document their income and expenses from the sole
proprietorship, as typically reported to the IRS on Form 1040, Schedule C, for a given tax year.
The lending institution or loan processor used this information to calculate the amount of money
the individual was entitled to receive under the PPP. The maximum PPP loan amount for a sole
proprietor with no employees was $20,833.00.
10. A PPP loan application was required to be processed by a participating lender. If a
PPP loan application was approved, the participating lender funded the PPP loan using its own
monies, which were 100o/o 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.
1 1. 
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 period of time after receiving the proceeds and used a
certain amount of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.
12. "Prestamos CDFI" "Capital Plus Financial," and "Benworth Capital" were among
many designated financial institutions authorized to process PPP loans that were guaranteed by
the SBA.
aJ
Case 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR   Document 1   Filed 05/01/23   Page 3 of 8

13. Blueacom was created during the COVID-I9 pandemic to assist small businesses
in securing PPP loans.
14. Blueacorn would transmit PPP loan applications to approved lenders including
Prestamos CDFI, Capital Plus Financial, and Benworth Capital.
15. Approved PPP loans were generally funded by wiring the proceeds of the loan into
the applicant's bank account, Current account, or another designated financial institution.
B. 
THE CONSPIRACY:
Beginning at a time unknown, but not later than April 19, 2021, and continuing through at
least on or about May 20,2021, in the District of Maryland and elsewhere, the defendant, SIEDAH
ELEY, Co-Conspirator 1, Co-Conspirator2, Co-Conspirator 3, Co-Conspirator 4, Co-Conspirator
5, Co-Conspirator 6, Co-Conspirator 7, and others known and unknown to the United States, did
willfully and knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other
to execute, and attempt to execute, a scheme and artifice to defraud and to obtain money, funds,
and property by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises and did
transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate commerce
certain writings, signs, signals and sounds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section
t343.
C. 
PURPOSE OF THE CONSPIRACY:
The purpose of the conspiracy was for SIEDAH ELEY, Co-Conspirator 1, Co-Conspirator
2, Co-Conspirator 3, Co-Conspirator 4, Co-Conspirator 5, Co-Conspirator 6, Co-Conspirator 7,
and others known and unknown to the United States, to enrich themselves unjustly by preparing
and submitting PPP loan applications by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses and
representations.
4
Case 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR   Document 1   Filed 05/01/23   Page 4 of 8

D. 
MANNER AND MEANS:
The manner and means by which SIEDAH ELEY, Co-Conspirator 1, Co-Conspirator 2,
Co-Conspirator 3, Co-Conspirator 4, Co-Conspirator 5, Co-Conspirator 6, Co-Conspirator 7, and
others known and unknown to the United States sought to accomplish the object and purpose of
the conspiracy included, among other things, the following:
1. 
ELEY recruited friends and family members primarily via word of mouth and text
message to participate in a scheme whereby they would obtain money from PPP programs with
her assistance fraudulently.
2. 
ELEY requested and received from interested individuals the following
information for the applicant: the applicant's name, address, social security, and phone number, a
copy of the front and back.of the applicant's driver's license, a bank statement from2020, and the
routing and account number for the applicant's bank account in order to prepare the fraudulent
PPP loan applications.
3. 
ELEY created false and fraudulent loan applications, each of which stated the
applicant had a sole proprietorship in the beauty industry and generated substantial income from
those businesses. Where the applicant actually received income ina de minimis amount from work
in the beauty industry, ELEY knowingly inflated the amount of income falsely.
4. 
ELEY prepared and submitted the false and fraudulent PPP sole proprietor loan
applications via the Blueacorn online portal.
5. 
ELEY falsely certified that the application and the information provided in the
supporting documents were true and accurate when she electronically submitted the fraudulent
PPP loan applications.
5
Case 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR   Document 1   Filed 05/01/23   Page 5 of 8

6. 
ELEY charged some applicants up to approximately $5,000.00 once the PPP loan
was funded. ELEY received these funds in cash or by electronic means via the Zelle digital
payment network.
E. 
OVERT ACTS:
In furtherance of the conspiracy and to achieve the objects thereof, the conspirators
committed and caused to be commiued the following overt acts, among others, in the District of
Maryland and elsewhere :
1. 
On or about April23,202l, ELEY completed and submitted a false PPP loan
application in her own rurme and on behalf of herself (Loan number x58704) electronically. As a
result of the fraudulent application, ELEY received approximately $20,832, via electronic deposit
into her Stride Bank account.
2. 
On or about May 4,2021, ELEY completed submiued a false PPP loan applicant
in the rurme of Co-Conspirator 1 (Loan Number x68700) electronically. As a result of the
fraudulent application, Co-Conspirator 1 received approximately $20,832, via electronic means
into Co-Conspirator 1's JPMorgan Chase Bank account.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
NOTICE OF'FORFEITURE
I. 
The allegations of Count 1 are incorporated by reference as though set forth fully
herein for the purpose of alleging forfeiture to the United States.
2. 
As a result of the offense alleged in Count 1, defendant, SIEDAH ELEY, shall
forfeit to the United States pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C), and
Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c), any property, real or personal, which constitutes or
is derived from proceeds traceable to said offense.
6
Case 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR   Document 1   Filed 05/01/23   Page 6 of 8

3. 
If any of the property described above as being subject to forfeiture, as a result of
arry act or omission of the defendant:
a. 
cannot be located upon the exercise ofdue diligence;
b. 
has been transferred, sold to, or deposited with, a third person;
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
subdivided without diffi culty;
the United States shall seek a money judgment and, pursuant to Title2l, United States Code,
Section 853(p), forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to the value of said property.
DUANE A. EVANS
UNITED STATES A
Assistant United S
Attorney
Illinois Bar No. 6282956
New Orleans, Louisiana
May 1,2023
1
Case 2:23-cr-00085-ILRL-KWR   Document 1   Filed 05/01/23   Page 7 of 8

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