Information - United States v. Crystal Denean Harvell

Record facts

U.S. District Court, Middle District of Florida · No. 3:24-cr-00179-WWB-LLL · Doc. 1 · 2024-08-21 · Docket on CourtListener

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Case 3:24-cr-00179-WWB-LLL Document 1 Filed 08/21/24 Page 1 of 13 PagelD 1

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
JACKSONVILLE DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

V. Case No.  3:24-cr- NA-\W WR- LLL
18 U.S.C. § 1349
CRYSTAL DENEAN HARVELL 18 U.S.C. § 1343
INFORMATION

The U.S. Attorney charges:

COUNT ONE
(Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud)

A. Introduction

1. At all times material to this Information, various business operated in
the Middle District of Florida, and elsewhere.

vs Among other services offered by the businesses to customers was the
ability to apply for a line of credit to purchase merchandise, services and pay for
healthcare related costs. When applying for a credit account, applicants provided

their personal identification information to include their Social Security number.

B. The Conspiracy

3. Beginning on an unknown date, but not later than in or about
February 2016, and continuing through and including in or about September 2019,

in the Middle District of Florida, and elsewhere, the defendant,
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CRYSTAL DENEAN HARVELL,
did knowingly and willfully combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with others, both
known and unknown, to devise and attempt to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud,
and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses,
representations, and promises, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.
C. Manner and Means of the Conspiracy
4. The manner and means by which the conspirators carried out the
conspiracy and scheme and artifice to defraud included, but were not limited to the
following:

a. It was part of the conspiracy in the Middle District of Florida,
and elsewhere, that the defendant and her conspirators fraudulently obtained the
means of identification of other individuals, that is, the Social Security number of
genuine individuals;

b. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and other
conspirators would recruit individuals to obtain lines of credit at various businesses,
using the Social Security numbers;

Cc. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would provide the Social Security numbers to the individuals recruited;

d. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would tell individuals recruited in furtherance of the conspiracy what
businesses to contact in order to apply for a line of credit, using the Social Security

numbers;
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e. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would have the individuals recruited in furtherance of the conspiracy
contact businesses online and/or over the phone and apply for a line of credit, using
the Social Security number of a genuine individual;

f. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would sometimes contact certain businesses using both the personal
identification information of the individuals recruited in furtherance of the
conspiracy and the fraudulently obtained Social Security number in order to apply
for a line of credit;

g. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would after fraudulently obtaining a line of credit at a business
sometimes have the individuals recruited in furtherance of the conspiracy call the
business and among other things, increase the line of credit, change the address
associated with the account, and add other authorized users;

h. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would have the individuals recruited in furtherance of the conspiracy go
to the business wherein the individuals successfully obtained a line of credit;

1. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would sometimes accompany the individuals recruited in furtherance of
the conspiracy to the business wherein the individuals successfully obtained a line of

credit;
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j. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would direct the individuals recruited in furtherance of the conspiracy to
purchase merchandise at the business where the recruited individuals successfully
obtained a line of credit;

k. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would sometimes purchase merchandise from businesses, using the line
of credit fraudulently opened by the individuals recruited in furtherance of the
conspiracy;

1, It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant and her
conspirators would sometimes communicate on-line in order to resell on Facebook
the merchandise fraudulently purchased from businesses, using the line of credit
opened by the individuals recruited in furtherance of the conspiracy;

m. It was further part of the conspiracy that the defendant
compensated individuals for participating in the conspiracy;

n. It was further part of the conspiracy that the conspirators would,
and did, share in the proceeds of the conspiracy; and

O. It was further a part of the conspiracy that the conspirators would
and did perform acts and make statements to hide and conceal and cause to be
hidden and concealed the purpose of the conspiracy and the acts committed in
furtherance thereof.

In violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349.
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COUNT TWO
(Wire Fraud)

A. Introduction

At all times relevant to this Information:

1. Navy Federal Credit Union was a financial institution doing business in
the Middle District of Florida, and elsewhere, and its accounts were federally insured
by the National Credit Union Administration.

2. Prestamos Community Development Financial Institution
(“Prestamos”) was a lending service that among other services assisted businesses in
accessing the Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program.
Prestamos worked with Blue Acorn to access the Small Business Administration
Paycheck Protection Program.

3. Blue Acorn was a financial services company that among other services
worked with companies to include Prestamos to assist businesses in accessing the
Small Business Administration Paycheck Protection Program.

4. Blue Acorn utilized computer servers / data centers outside of the state
of Florida, as part of conducting nationwide business operations.

The Small Business Administration

5. The United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”) was an
executive branch agency of the United States government that provided support to

entrepreneurs and small businesses.
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6. The SBA enabled and provided for loans through banks, credit unions,
and other lenders. These loans had government-backed guarantees. In addition to
traditional SBA funding programs, The CARES Acct established several new
temporary programs and provided for the expansion of others to address the
COVID-19 outbreak.

The Paycheck Protection Program

he One of the new programs was the SBA Paycheck Protection Program
(“PPP”), which was a loan designed to provide a direct incentive for small businesses
to keep their workers on the payroll. Under this program, the SBA could forgive all
or part of loans, if employees were kept on the payroll for eight weeks and borrowers
submitted documentation confirming that the loan proceeds were used for certain
qualifying business expenses (i.e., payroll, rent, mortgage interest, or utilities). The
PPP forgiveness process required the applicant to electronically submit a PPP Loan
Forgiveness Application Form, a SBA Form 3508S.

8. The PPP application process required interested applicants to
electronically submit a Borrower Application Form, a SBA Form 2483. The
application contained information as to the purpose of the loan, average monthly
payroll, number of employees, and background of the business and its owner. |
Applicants were also required to make certain good faith certifications, including that
economic uncertainties had necessitated their loan requests for continued business
operations, and that they intended to use loan proceeds only for the authorized

purposes.
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9. Further, when submitting the SBA Form 2483, the authorized
representative certified his understanding that, should the PPP funds be knowingly
used for unauthorized purposes, the United States could hold him legally liable,
including for charges of fraud. The applicant was also required to certify the truth
and accuracy of any information provided on the SBA Form 2483 and in all
supporting documents, to include any documents intended to verify the applicant’s
payroll expenses. The applicant was required to certify an understanding that
knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan from the SBA is
punishable under the law and subject to criminal penalties.

B. The Scheme and Artifice

10. Beginning on an unknown date, but no later than in or around April
2021, and continuing through at least in or around November 2021, in the Middle
District of Florida and elsewhere, the defendant,
CRYSTAL DENEAN HARVELL,
knowingly devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud, and to
obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses,

representations, and promises.
Case 3:24-cr-00179-WWB-LLL Document1 Filed 08/21/24 Page 8 of 13 PagelD 8

C. Manner and Means of the Scheme and Artifice
11. The manner and means by which the defendant sought to accomplish
the scheme to defraud included, among others, the following:

a. It was part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant would
and did fraudulently complete an IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” for purposes of applying for a PPP loan to which she was not entitled;

b. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed the principal business or profession as beautician
services;

g, It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed under “Part I Income” gross receipts or sales for her
business as $98,000;

d. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed for her business $10,000 in supply expenses;

é. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From

Business” the defendant listed for her business $7000 in advertising expenses;
Case 3:24-cr-00179-WWB-LLL Document1 Filed 08/21/24 Page 9 of 13 PagelD 9

f. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed for her business $11,000 in car and truck expenses;

g. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed for her business $1,000 in office expenses;

h. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed for her business $2,000 in repairs and maintenance;

1. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed for her business $5,000 in commissions and fees;

j. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that when
fraudulently completing the IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business” the defendant listed for her business a net profit of $57,500;

k. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that, in order to
induce the SBA and a SBA Participating Lender to fund a PPP loan for her
purported business, the defendant would and did submit, a false and fraudulent loan
application that included multiple materially false and fraudulent representations and

pretenses, such as:
Case 3:24-cr-00179-WWB-LLL Document1 Filed 08/21/24 Page 10 of 13 PagelD 10

1. stating a business gross income of $98,000 and that current
economic uncertainty made the loan request necessary to support the ongoing

operations of the defendant;

il. certifying that the business was in operation on February
1a, 2020;
ill. certifying that the funds would be used to maintain
payroll;
iV. certifying the truth of the statements in the application;
and
V. including fraudulent supporting documentation, that is, a

fraudulently completed IRS Form 1040, Schedule C, “Profit or Loss From
Business.”

1. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant
would and did provide financial institution account information into which the
fraudulently obtained PPP funds would be transferred via a ACH payment / wire
transfer;

m. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant
would and did cause a SBA Participating Lender through its bank to send PPP loan
proceeds via a ACH payment / wire transfer to the defendant’s bank account at

Navy Federal Credit Union;

10
Case 3:24-cr-00179-WWB-LLL Document1 Filed 08/21/24 Page 11 of 13 PagelD 11

n. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that the defendant
would and did retain fraud proceeds for the defendant’s personal enrichment and
entertainment;

O. It was further a part of the scheme and artifice that, in order to
induce the SBA and a SBA Participating Lender to forgive the aforementioned PPP
loan for her purported business, the defendant would and did submit, a false and
fraudulent PPP Loan Forgiveness Application, a SBA Form 3508S that included

multiple materially false and fraudulent representations and pretenses, such as:

i. stating that the amount of the loan spent on payroll costs
was $18,800;
il. certifying that she used the PPP loan proceeds for eligible
uses; and
iil. certifying the truth of the statements in the loan

forgiveness application.

p. It was further a part of scheme and artifice that the defendant
would and did perform acts, and make statements to promote and achieve the object
of the scheme and artifice and to misrepresent, hide, and conceal, and cause to be
misrepresented, hidden, and concealed, the purpose of the scheme and artifice and

the acts committed in furtherance thereof.

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D. Execution of the Scheme and Artifice

12. Onor about May 21, 2021, in the Middle District of Florida and

elsewhere, the defendant,
CRYSTAL DENEAN HARVELL,

for the purpose of executing the scheme and artifice described above, transmitted and
caused to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in
interstate and foreign commerce, certain writings, signals, signs, pictures, and
sounds, that is, an Automated Clearing House / wire transfer of PPP loan proceeds
in the amount of $20,415.00 from Prestamos to the Navy Federal Credit Union
account of the defendant.

In violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.

FORFEITURE

1. The allegations contained in Counts One and Two are incorporated by
reference for the purpose of alleging forfeiture pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C)
and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c).

2. Upon conviction of a conspiracy of the violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, or upon the conviction of the violation of 18 U.S.C.

§ 1343, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §
981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), any property, real or personal, which

constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the violation.

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a, The property to be forfeited includes, but is not limited to, an order of

forfeiture for approximately $20,415, which represents the proceeds that the

defendant personally obtained as a result of the violation in Count Two.

4. If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission

of the defendant:

a.

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 Court;

has been substantially diminished in value; or

has been commingled with other property which cannot be
divided without difficulty;

the United States shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property under the

provisions of 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), as incorporated by 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c).

ROGER B. HANDBERG
United States Attorney

py; Howe C. oD

KEVIN C. FREIN
Assistant United States Attorney

MICHAEL #% COOLICAN
Assistant United States Attorney
Deputy Chief, Jacksonville Division

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