Criminal Complaint and Affidavit — U.S. v. Keough (S.D. Fla.)

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U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida · No. 9:23-mj-08393-WM · Doc. 3 · 2023-08-08 · Docket on CourtListener

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 
         
CASE NO.  23-MJ-8393-WM 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
vs. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(Under Seal) 
 
GREGORY SCOTT KEOUGH, 
 
 
 
Defendant. 
___________________________________/ 
 
CRIMINAL COVER SHEET 
 
1. Did this matter originate from a matter pending in the Northern Region of the United States 
Attorney=s Office prior to August 8, 2014 (Mag. Judge Shaniek M. Maynard)?  No 
 
2. Did this matter originate from a matter pending in the Central Region of the United States 
Attorney=s Office prior to October 3, 2019 (Mag. Judge Jared M. Strauss)?    No 
 
3. Did this matter involve the participation of or consultation with now Magistrate Judge 
Eduardo I. Sanchez during his tenure at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, which concluded on 
January 22, 2023?  No 
 
 
Respectfully submitted, 
MARKENZY LAPOINTE 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 
 
 
By: 
_______________________________                
Robin W. Waugh 
Assistant United States Attorney 
FL Bar No. 0537837 
500 South Australian Avenue, Suite 400 
West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 
Tel: (561)820-8711 
Email: robin.waugh@usdoj.gov 
Case 9:23-mj-08393-WM   Document 3   Entered on FLSD Docket 08/08/2023   Page 1 of 10
SW
Aug 8, 2023
WPB

AO 91 (Rev. 11/11)   Criminal Complaint
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
for the
__________ District of __________
)
)
)
)
)
)
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Case No.
Defendant
CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
in the
This criminal complaint is based on these facts: 
u Continued on the attached sheet.
Printed name and title
Sworn and Attested to me by Applicant by Telephone (Facetime) pursuant to Fed. R. 
Crim. P. 4(d) and 4.1
Date:
City and state:
Printed name and title
         Southern District of Florida
United States of America
v.
   GREGORY SCOTT KEOUGH,
I, the complainant in this case, state that the following is true to the best of my knowledge and belief. On of about 
the date  of March 31, 2020 to in and around February 2021, 
in the county of     Palm Beach
Southern
Florida
District of
Code Section
18 U.S.C. § 1343 and
18 U.S.C. § 1957(a)
, the defendant violated:
Offense Description
Wire Fraud and
Engaging in Monetary Transactions in Criminally Derived Proceeds.
See Attached Affidavit in Support of Criminal Complaint
✔
Complainant’s signature
Michelle McDaniel, SA, FBI
West Palm Beach, Florida
Judge’s signature
William Matthewman, U.S. Magistrate Judge
23-MJ-8393-WM
August 8, 2023 
Case 9:23-mj-08393-WM   Document 3   Entered on FLSD Docket 08/08/2023   Page 2 of 10
SW
Aug 8, 2023
WPB

AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF CRIMINAL COMPLAINT 
 
I, Michelle McDaniel, being first duly sworn, hereby depose and state as follows: 
I. 
INTRODUCTION AND AGENT BACKGROUND 
1. 
I make this affidavit in support of a criminal complaint charging GREGORY 
SCOTT KEOUGH (“KEOUGH”) with Wire Fraud and Engaging in Monetary Transactions in 
Criminally Derived Proceeds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 1957(a), respectively, from 
on or about March 31, 2020 through in and around February 2021, in Palm Beach County, in the 
Southern District of Florida, and elsewhere. 
2. 
I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and have 
been so employed since June 2021.  I currently serve on the Complex Financial Crimes squad in 
the FBI’s Miami Division, out of the West Palm Beach Resident Agency. My duties include 
investigations of violations of federal laws including bank fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, aggravated 
identity theft, and money laundering. I have received training on the proper investigative 
techniques for these violations, including financial analysis, surveillance techniques; interviewing 
methods of subjects, witnesses, and victims; and the preparation and execution of arrest and search 
warrants.  I have investigated individuals who committed various types of fraud offenses.  Prior to 
joining the FBI, I spent 14 years employed by AT&T, working in a variety of roles throughout that 
time, most recently as a district manager in the National Business Organization.  
3. 
Recently, I have been assigned to work with the Small Business Administration 
Office of Inspector General (“SBA-OIG”) and other law enforcement partners to investigate the 
Defendant and others involved in possible fraud associated with the stimulus and economic 
assistance prog]rams created by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
4. 
The facts set forth in this affidavit are based upon my personal observations, my 
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review of records obtained during the course of the investigation, my training and experience, and 
information I obtained from other law enforcement agents and government personnel.  Because 
this affidavit is being submitted for the limited purpose of establishing probable cause in support 
of a criminal complaint, I have not included in this affidavit every detail of the investigation.  
A. The Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) 
5. 
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal 
law enacted in or around March 2020 and designed to provide emergency financial assistance to 
the 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 forgivable 
loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred 
to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).   
6. 
The types of businesses eligible for a loan included sole proprietorships.  In order 
to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business (through its authorized representative or the sole 
proprietor) signed and submitted a PPP loan application (Small Business Administration (“SBA”) 
Form 2483) online through the lender’s application platform.  The PPP loan application required 
the business (through its authorized representative or the sole proprietor) to acknowledge the 
program rules and make certain affirmative certifications, in order to be eligible to obtain the PPP 
loan.  The certifications included an attestation that the business was in operation on February 15, 
2020, and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll taxes or paid independent 
contractors, or was a sole proprietorship with no employees.  In the PPP loan application, the small 
business (through its authorized representative or the sole proprietor) was required to provide, 
among other things, its average monthly payroll expenses and number of employees.  In addition, 
businesses applying for the PPP loan were required to provide documentation confirming their 
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payroll expenses.  Typically, businesses supplied documents showing the amount of payroll taxes 
reported to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).  The sole proprietorship had to report and 
document the business’ income and expenses, as typically reported to the IRS on Form 1040, 
Schedule C.  These figures and documentation were used to calculate the amount of money the 
small business was eligible to receive under the PPP.  Sole proprietorships were eligible to receive 
a maximum PPP loan of up to $20,833 to cover lost income.   
7. 
A PPP loan application was processed by a participating lender.  The SBA 
delegated authority to third-party lenders to underwrite and approve the loans.  If a PPP loan 
application was approved, the participating lender funded the PPP loan using its own monies, 
which were 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 
electronically by the lender to the SBA in the course of processing the loan.    
8. 
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 and used a defined portion of the PPP loan 
proceeds on payroll expenses. 
B. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) Program 
9. 
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) 
program provided low-interest financing to small businesses, renters, and homeowners in regions 
affected by declared disasters.  
10. 
The CARES Act also authorized the SBA to provide EIDL assistance to eligible 
small businesses experiencing “substantial economic injury” (substantial financial disruptions) 
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due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  In order to obtain a COVID-19 EIDL, a qualifying business was 
required to submit electronically an EIDL application to the SBA and provide information about 
its operations, such as the number of employees, gross revenues, and the cost of goods sold for the 
12-month period preceding January 31, 2020.  The applicant was also required to certify under 
penalty of perjury that all of the information in the EIDL application was true and correct to the 
best of the applicant’s knowledge. 
11. 
EIDL applications were submitted directly to, and processed by, the SBA, with 
support from a government contractor.  EIDL funds were issued directly from the United States 
Treasury.   
12. 
In addition, the CARES Act authorized the SBA to issue advances of up to $10,000 
to small businesses within three days of applying for an EIDL.  The amount of the advance was 
determined by the number of employees the applicant certified having at the small business.  The 
advances did not have to be repaid. 
13. 
SBA’s email and loan application servers were located outside the State of Florida, 
so wire communications between banks and the SBA and between EIDL applicants located within 
Florida and the SBA necessarily traveled in interstate commerce. 
II. 
FRAUDULENT PPP AND EIDL APPLICATIONS 
14. 
In summary, between March and June 2020, KEOUGH submitted, or caused to be 
submitted, five applications through PPP and EIDL loan programs. Three of the applications, 
submitted through online portals with the SBA, were all approved and an aggregate of 
approximately $819,700.00 in funds were distributed.  As noted above, in order to be eligible for 
a PPP or EIDL loan, one had to: (a) have an active business as of the start of the COVID-19 
Pandemic; (b) have paid employees (with the exception of some sole proprietorship EIDLs); and 
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(c) use the proceeds of the loans to continue to operate the business and continue paying its 
employees.  The crisis situation of the COVID-19 emergency meant that banks and the SBA had 
to rely on documentation provided by and sworn representations made by the applicants.  
However, these eligibility requirements can be cross-checked against documentation that 
applicants provided – or failed to provide – to other government agencies at other times.   
15. 
A summary of each loan application submitted, or caused to be submitted, by 
KEOUGH is outlined below:  
FUNDED LOAN APPLICATIONS 
APPLICATION 
DATE 
COMPANY 
AMOUNT FUNDED 
DISBURSEMENT 
DATE  
VICTIM 
3/31/2020 
National Financial 
Holdings Inc. 
$509,900.00 
4/22/2020 
SBA ‐ Loan 
amount 
$500,000 
3/31/2020 
NFH Partners LLC 
$153,900.00 
5/20/2020 
 
SBA ‐ Loan 
amount 
$150,000 
4/8/2020 
Grupo Keough 
LLC 
$155,900.00 
6/16/2020 
 
SBA ‐ Loan 
amount 
$150,000 
 
 
TOTAL: $819,700.00 
 
 
NON‐FUNDED APPLICATIONS  
4/8/2020 
Grupo Keough 
LLC 
 
N/A 
N/A 
BOA ‐ 
$126,750 
4/9/2020 
Enclave Partners 
LLC 
N/A 
N/A 
SBA 
16. 
On March 31, 2020, an EIDL application was electronically submitted to the SBA 
online portal on behalf of National Financial Holdings, Inc. The EIDL application falsely asserted 
gross revenues of $2,189,102.00 for the twelve months prior to the date of the disaster, January 
31, 2020.  Both Derek Acree and KEOUGH are listed as business owners of National Financial 
Holdings Inc. and guarantors of the loan.  On April 20, 2020, Acree executed (via DocuSign) the 
Loan authorization and agreement, Note and the security agreement.  Both Acree and KEOUGH 
executed (via DocuSign) the Unconditional Guarantee (disaster loans) and the certificate of 
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completion.  The application resulted in approximately $509,900.00 in loan proceeds disbursed 
into a BB&T bank account ending in 5893, held by NFH Florida LLC as account holder for which 
Acree is a signatory.  Falsified bank statements and tax documents were uploaded to support the 
revenues listed on the application.  Approximately $109,724.00 of the $509,900.00 loan funds was 
wire transferred to TD Bank account ending in 5925, held by NFH Partners LLC as account holder 
and for which KEOUGH is the sole signatory.  
17. 
National Financial Holdings Inc., with a principal place of business in West Palm 
Beach, was incorporated in 2016 and became inoperative on March 1, 2020.  Gregory Scott 
Keough is listed as the Chief Executive Officer.   
18. 
On March 31, 2020, an EIDL loan application was electronically submitted to the 
SBA online portal on behalf of NFH Partners LLC.  The application was approved and 
approximately $153,900.00 in loan proceeds was disbursed into NFH Partners LLC’s TD Bank 
account ending in 5925.  The EIDL application falsely asserted gross revenues of $496,785.00 for 
the twelve months prior to the date of the disaster, January 31, 2020.  Bank account analysis 
revealed approximately $11,910.00 in gross receipts were deposited into the NFH Partners LLC 
TD Bank account ending in 5925, with KEOUGH and Ana Maria Keough as authorized 
signatories, during the period of January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020.  
19. 
NFH Partners LLC, with a principal place of business of 1549 Enclave Circle, West 
Palm Beach, was established by KEOUGH on March 23, 2015.  The entity was administratively 
dissolved in September 2021.  KEOUGH is listed as the Managing Member and Ana Maria 
Keough is listed as the Secretary. 
20. 
After receiving the loan proceeds, several large cash withdrawals from the NFH 
Partners LLC TD Bank account ending in 5925.  KEOUGH is identified as the withdrawing 
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account holder by the provision of his Florida Drivers’ License.  For example, on May 26, 2020, 
KEOUGH made a withdrawal of $57,500.00 at the TD Bank branch located in Royal Palm Beach.  
On June 17, 2020, KEOUGH made a withdrawal of $44,500.00 at the TD Bank branch located in 
Royal Palm Beach.   
21. 
On April 8, 2020, an EIDL loan application was submitted to the SBA through the 
SBA online portal on behalf of Grupo Keough LLC.  The application was approved and 
approximately, $155,900.00 in loan proceeds was disbursed into a Bank of America (“BOA”) 
account ending in 1970, which is held in the name of Grupo Keough LLC as account holder. 
KEOUGH and Ana Maria Keough are listed as the account signatories.  The EIDL application 
falsely asserted gross revenues of $250,000.00 for the twelve months prior to the date of the 
disaster, January 31, 2020.  Bank account analysis revealed approximately $2,652.00 in gross 
receipts were deposited into the Grupo Keough LLC BOA account ending in 1970 operated by 
KEOUGH during the period of January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020.  
22. 
Grupo Keough LLC, with a principal place of business address of 1549 Enclave 
Circle, WPB, was established as a Florida limited liability company in June 2010.  KEOUGH and 
Ana Maria Keough are listed as Managing Members of Grupo Keough LLC.  Grupo Keough LLC 
was administratively dissolved in September 2021.  
23. 
After receiving the $155,900 EIDL loan proceeds, on February 1, 2021 a check, 
identified with check number 1145, was written on the Grupo Keough LLC BOA account ending 
in 1970, in the amount of $72,450.00.  Bank analysis revealed that this sum was EIDL proceeds.  
Check number 1145 listed Enclave Partners LLC as the payee and signed by KEOUGH.  Enclave 
Partners LLC is a business entity for which KEOUGH and Ana Maria Keough are Managing 
Members.  The check was deposited into Enclave Partners LLC’s TD bank account ending in 4399.  
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KEOUGH is the sole signatory on the Enclave Partners LLC TD bank account.   
24. 
On April 8. 2020, a PPP loan application was submitted to Bank of America 
(“BOA”) on behalf of Grupo Keough LLC.  The PPP loan application, which was submitted 
through BOA’s online portal, falsely asserted Grupo Keough had six employees and an average 
monthly payroll of $42,250.00.  Bank account analysis revealed no evidence of payroll expenses 
during the period of January 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020. 
25. 
On April 9, 2020, an EIDL loan application was submitted to SBA, through SBA’s 
online portal, on behalf of Enclave Partners LLC.  Enclave Partners LLC listed its gross revenues 
for the twelve months prior to the date of the disaster January 31, 2020, as $56,000.00.  Bank 
account analysis revealed approximately $17,200.00 in deposits for the same period.  The EIDL 
loan application was not approved. 
26. 
Enclave Partners LLC, with a principal place of business address of 1549 Enclave 
Circle, WPB, was established as a Florida limited liability company in December 2015.  KEOUGH 
and Ana Maria Keough are listed as Managing Members of Enclave Partners LLC.  Enclave 
Partners LLC is currently active.   
27. 
Based on the foregoing, I submit that probable cause exists to believe that, from on 
or about March 31, 2020 continuing to in and around February 2021, GREGORY SCOTT 
KEOUGH, committed the offense of wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States Code,  
 
 
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