Criminal Information — United States v. Denesseria Slaton

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · No. 1:21-cr-00179-JPB · Doc. 1 · 2021-05-17 · Docket on CourtListener

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FILED N OPEN COURT
U.S.D.C. - Atlanta
MAY 172021
JAMES N. HATTEN Clerk
By:
(\,~j~4
‘.~.W!
‘Deputy Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
v.
Criminal Information
DENESSERIA SLATON A/K/A
No. 1:21-CR-179
DENESsERIE SLATON
THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY CHARGES THAT:
Background
At all times relevant to this Information:
The Defendant and her Co-Conspirators
1.
DENESSERIA SLATON A/K/A DENESSERIE SLATON (“SLATON”) was an
individual residing in the state of Georgia.
2.
Darrell Thomas was an individual residing in the state of Georgia
who claimed ownership, and is the Chief Financial Officer, of Bellator Phront
Group Inc., a Georgia corporation. As of May 21, 2020, Thomas claimed to be the
Chief Executive Officer, Secretary, and registered agent of Elite Executive
Services Inc., a Georgia corporation.
3.
Bern Benoit a/k/a Burn Benoit was an individual residing in the
state of California who claimed sole ownership of Transportation Management
Services Inc., a Mirmesota corporation.
Case 1:21-cr-00179-JPB     Document 1     Filed 05/17/21     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 government 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 this effort, the SBA enabled and provided for loans
through banks, credit unions, and other lenders. These loans had government-
backed guarantees.
The Paycheck Protection Program
6.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act
was a federal law enacted in or about March 2020 and was designed to provide
emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who are suffering
the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
7.
One source of relief that the CARES Act provided for was the
authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for
payroll, mortgage interest, rent/lease, and utilities, through a program referred
to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). Congress subsequently
authorized additional PPP funding.
8.
The PPP allowed qualifying small businesses and other
organizations to receive PPP loans. Businesses were required to use PPP loan
proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP
2
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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 certain percentage of the PPP loan proceeds for payroll
expenses.
9.
The amount of a PPP loan that a small business may have been
entitled to receive was determined by the number of employees employed by the
business and the business’s average monthly payroll costs.
10.
In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying 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 eligil5le to obtain the PPP
loan. In the PPP loan application, the small business (through its authorized
representative) had to state, 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 had to provide documentation
showing their payroll expenses.
11.
The SBA oversaw the PPP. However, individual PPP loans were
issued by private, approved lenders who received and processed PPP
applications and supporting documentation, and then made loans using the
lenders’ own funds, which were 100% guaranteed by the SBA. Data from the
application, including information about the borrower, the total amount of the
3
Case 1:21-cr-00179-JPB     Document 1     Filed 05/17/21     Page 3 of 8

loan, and the listed number of employees, was transmitted by the lender to the
SBA in the course of processing the loan.
12.
Financial Institution 1 was an FDIC-insured bank headquartered in
Fort Lee, New Jersey. Financial Institution 1 participated in the SBA’s PPP as a
lender, and as such, was authorized to lend funds to eligible borrowers under the
terms of the PPP.
Count One
Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud and Wire Fraud
13.
The United States Attorney re-alleges and incorporates by reference
the factual allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 12 of this Information
as if fully set forth herein.
14.
From in or about April 2020 through in or about May 2020, the exact
dates unknown, in the Northern District of Georgia and elsewhere, the
defendant,
DENEssERIA SLAT0N A/K/A DENEssERIE SLAT0N,
did knowingly and willfully combine, conspire, confederate, agree, and have a
tacit understanding with Darrell Thomas, Bern Benoit, and with others known
and unknown, to:
(a)
Execute a scheme and artifice to defraud a financial institution, the
deposits of which were insured by the FDIC, that is, Financial
Institution 1, and to obtain money, funds, credits, and assets owned
by and under the custody and control of the aforementioned
financial institution by means of materially false and fraudulent
4
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pretenses, representations, and promises and by the omission of
material facts, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section
1344; and
(b)
devise and intend 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, and by the
omission of material facts, well knowing and having reason to know
that said pretenses were and would be false and fraudulent when
made and caused to be made and that said omissions were and
would be material, and, in so doing, with intent to defraud, caused
interstate and foreign wire communications to be made, in
furtherance of the scheme and artifice to defraud, in violation of
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
Manner and Means
15.
On or about May 20, 2020, SLAT0N and her co-conspirators utilized
interstate wires to submit and assist in the submission of a PPP loan application
for Transportation Management Services Inc. to Financial Institution 1.
16.
On the PPP loan application for Transportation Management
Services Inc., SLATON and her co-conspirators falsely and fraudulently
represented that the company had 66 employees and an average monthly payroll
of $332,167.
5
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17.
The PPP loan application contained the initials of Transportation
Management Services Inc.’s owner to certify each of the following
representations:
a.
The Applicant business was in operation on February 15, 2020
and had employees for whom it paid salaries and payroll
taxes or paid independent contractors, as reported on Form(s)
1099-MISC;
b.
The funds will be used to retain workers and maintain payroll
or make mortgage interest payments, lease payments, and
utility payments, as specified under the Paycheck Protection
Program Rule; and
c.
The information provided in the application and the
information provided in all supporting documents and forms
is true and accurate in all material respects.
18.
SLATON assisted in the submission of falsified IRS Form 941s for
each quarter of 2019 included with Transportation Management Services Inc.’s
PPP loan application and a falsified bank statement for Transportation
Management Services Inc. for February 2020.
19.
Based on the false and fraudulent representations and submissions
made by SLATON and her co-conspirators, Financial Institution 1 distributed
approximately $830,417 to Transportation Management Services Inc.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
6
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Forfeiture Provision
Upon conviction of the offense alleged in this Information, the defendant,
DENESSERIA SLATON A/K/A DENESSERIE SLATON, shall forfeit to the United
States, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a) (2), any property,
real or personal, constituting or derived from proceeds obtained, directly or
indirectly, as a result of the violation, including, but not limited to, the following:
(a)
Money Judgment: A sum of money in United States currency
representing the amount of proceeds obtained as a result of each
offense, or conspiracy to commit such offense, for which each
defendant is convicted.
If, as a result of any act or omission of the defendant(s), any property subject to
forfeiture,
(a)
cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
(b)
has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;
(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 divided
without difficulty,
the United States intends, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section
853(p), as incorporated by Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(b), to seek
forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to the value of the forfeitable
property described above.
7
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KURT R. ERsKINE
Acting Un1~~
tes Attorney
TAL C. CHAIKEN
Assistant United States Attorney
Georgia Bar No. 273949
N~P~K’~!~s
Assistant United States Attorney
Georgia Bar No. 263930
600 U.S. Courthouse
75 Ted Turner Drive SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-581-6000; Fax: 404-581-6181
DANIEL S. KAHN
Acting Chief Fraud Section
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
SIlT MOORE
Trial Attorney, Fraud Section
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
1400 New York Aye, NW
Bond Building, 11th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
202-514-2000; Fax: 202-514-3708
Case 1:21-cr-00179-JPB     Document 1     Filed 05/17/21     Page 8 of 8

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