Indictment — United States v. Abhishek Krishnan (Eastern District of North Carolina)

Summary

An indictment filed June 23, 2022 in United States v. Abhishek Krishnan, Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. It states that Krishnan owned American Pure Whey, LLC, was charged in a forty-one count Indictment returned on or about July 31, 2019, and has resided outside the United States since on or about October 30, 2018. Count One charges that from on or about April 24, 2020 to on or about September 9, 2021 Krishnan stole pandemic unemployment insurance funding made available to the State of North Carolina, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641. Count Two charges use of the names and signatures of M.S., J.W. and R.W. under Section 1028A. The forfeiture notice includes $40,650 in proceeds.

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“Indictment — United States v. Abhishek Krishnan (Eastern District of North Carolina).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/1-indictment-610c622680/, SHA-256 3b37b49618fc2de94d86e3e4f5756f06e2549db3cdfdfaade7c255e2cd4bdc25.

Full text

FILED fN ~PEN COUR1" .
ON f.t ~ \ :}-~ 180U--
Peter A. Moore, Jr., Cieri<
US District Court
Eastern District of NC
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
~'
WESTERN DIVISION
NO. 5:
1.1.- 1 CJL- ~q- l
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
)
v. ) INDICTMENT
)
ABHISHEK KRISHNAN )

The Grand Jury charges that:
'
Introduction

1. . The defendant, ABHISHEK KRISHNAN (hereinafter referred to as

"KRISHNAN'), was a citizen of the Republic of India.

2. Since on or about October 30, 2018, KRISHNAN resided outside the

United States.

3. American Pure Whey, LLC ("APW') was a North Carolina limited

liability company formed on or about January 7, 2009. From at least. 2012 through

on or about August 5, 2019, APW sold protein powders from its processing plant, in

New Bern, North Carolina, to other dietary supplement manufacturers and retail

customers throughout the United States. KRISHNAN was APW's owner and

reported APW's income on his Individual Income· Tax Returns (Forms 1040) as a

Schedule C sole proprietorship.

4. On or about July 31, 2019, a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern

District of North Carolina returned a forty-one count Indictment against

KRISHNAN for mail fraud, adulteration of food products, false labeling of food

Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM Document 1 Filed 06/23/22 Page 1 of 7
products, and money laundering. The Indictment alleged that APW's products had

significantly less protein content and significantly higher carbohydrate content than

the label indicated. Further, the Indictment alleged KRISHNAN used fraud

proceeds to engage in monetary transactions value_d at more than $10,000.

5. On or about August 5, 2019, federal search warrants were executed at

APW's processing facility; located at 3302 U.S. Highway 70E, New Bern, North

Carolina, and KRISHNAN's former residence, located at 1421 Ballyclare Court,

Raleigh, North Carolina.

6. On or about August 28, 2019, the grand jury returned a Superseding

Indictment, retaining the. original forty-one counts and .charging KRISHNAN with

engaging in two additional monetary transactions with fraud proceeds.

7. On or about October 4, 2019, the United States filed a civil complaint in

the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, seeking

forfeiture of certain real and personal property, including 1421 Ballyclare Court,

Raleigh, North Carolina, based upon the fraud alleged in the Superseding

Indictment.

8. On or about June 29, 2020; United States District Judge Louise W.

Flanagan issued an order, in 5:19-CV-441-FL, finding that, as of December 2019,

KRISHNAN had notice of the criminal charges against him and had thereafter

declined to re-enter the United States to submit to its jurisdiction with the specific

intent to avoid prosecution.

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Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM Document 1 Filed 06/23/22 Page 2 of 7
Unemployment Insurance Benefits

9. Unemployment Insurance (UI) is a state-federal program that provides

monetary benefits to eligible lawful workers. Although state workforce agencies

(SWAs) administer their respective UI programs, they'must do so in accordance with

federal laws and regulations. UI payments (benefits) are intended to provide
'
temporary financial assistance to lawful workers who are unemployed through no

fault of their own. Each state sets its own additional requirements for etigibility,

benefit amounts, and length of time benefits can be paid. Generally, UI weekly benefit

amounts are based on a percentage of your earnings over a base period. In the State

of North Carolina, the North Carolina Department of ,Commerce, Division of

~ Employment Security (DES), administered the UI program.

10. On March 13, 2020, the President declared the ongoing Coronavirus

Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic of sufficient severity and.magnitude to warrant

an emergency declaration for all states, tribes, territories, and the District of

Columbia.

11. On March 27, 2020, the President signed The Coronavirus Aid, Relief,

and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. It expanded the states'. ability to

provide UI for many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who were

not ordinarily eligible for UI benefits. The CARES Act provided for three new UI

programs: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA); Pandemic Emergency

Unemployment Compensation ("PEUC") and Federal Pandemic Unemployment

Compensation (FPUC).

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Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM Document 1 Filed 06/23/22 Page 3 of 7
12. The first program, PUA, provided for up to 39 weeks of benefits t.o self-

employed individuals if they previously performed such work in North Carolina and

were unemployed or unable to work due to a COVID-19 related reason. To be eligible,

the claimant's unemployment must have occurred between January 2,7, 2020, and

December 31, 2020.

13. The second program, PEU:C, provided for up to 13 weeks of benefits to

individuals who had exhausted regular UI under state or federal law, had no rights

to regular UI under any other state or federal law, were not receiving UI under the

UI laws of Canada, and were able to work, available for work, and actively seeking

work. However, states must offer flexibility in meeting the "actively seeking work"

requirement if individuals were unable to search for work because of COVID-19,

including because of illness, quarantine, or movement restriction.

14. The third program, FPUC, provided individuals, who were collecting

regular UI, PEUC, PUA, and several other forms of assistance, with an additional

$600 per week. FPUC was available in North Ca~olina between March 29, 2020, and

July 31, 2020. FPUC was reauthorized for an additional $300 per week between

December 27, 2020, and September 4, 2021.

15. On August 8, 2020; after the initial FPUC program expired, the

President signed a Presidential Memorandum authorizing the Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA) to use disaster relief funds, pursuant to Section 408 of

the Stafford Act, to provide supplemental payments for lost wages to help ease the

financial burden on individuals, who were unemployed due to COVID-19. The "Lost

4
Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM Document 1 Filed 06/23/22 Page 4 of 7
Wages Assistance Program" (LWAP) served as a temporary measure to provide an

additional $300 per week to UI claimants between August 1, 2020, and September 5,

2020.

COUNT ONE

16. Paragraphs 1 through 15 of this Indictment are incorporated herein by

reference as factual allegations.

17. From on or about April 24, 2020, to on or about September 9, 2021, in

the Eastern District of North Carolina and elsewhere, the Defendant, ABHISKEK

KRISHNAN, did knowingly steal, purloin and convert· to his use property of the

United States, to wit pandemic unemployment insurance funding made available to

the State of North Carolina, to which he knew he was not entitled to, having a value

exceeding $1,000.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641.

COUNT TWO

18. Paragraphs 1 through 15 and 17 of this Indictment are incorporated

herein by reference as factual allegations.

19. On or about April 24, 2020, in the Eastern District of North Carolina,

and elsewhere, the defendant, ABHISKEK KRISHNAN, did knowingly use, without

lawful authority, a means of identification of another person, that is, the names and

signatures .of M.S., J.W. and R.W., during and in relation to a felony violation

enumerated in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A(c), that is, theft of

government property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 641, as

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Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM Document 1 Filed 06/23/22 Page 5 of 7
charged in Count One of this Indictment and incorporated herein, knowing that said

means of identification belonged to another actual person.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1028A.

FORFEITURE NOTICE

The defendant is hereby given notice that all of his interest' in all property

specified herein is subject to forfeiture.

Upon conviction of the offense set forth in Count One of this Indictment, the

Defendant shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to Title 18, United States Code,

Section 981(a)(l)(C), and Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461, any property,

real or personal, constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained directly or indirectly

as a result of, or traceable to, such offense.

The forfeitable property includes, but is not· limited to, $40,650 in proceeds

personally obtained by him.

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

defendant:

(1) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;

(2) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;

(3) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court;

(4) has been substantially diminished in value; or

(5) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without

difficulty,

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Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM Document
\ 1 Filed 06/23/22 Page 6 of 7
it is the intent of the United States, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section

853(p), to seek forfeiture of any other property of said defendant up to the value of

the forfeitable property described above.

A TRUE 1;JLL /

d
d
~ERSDN
1 --,-, J
DATE: (L - }J-JO;)~

MICHAEL F. ASLEY, JR ..
United Sta Attorney

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Case 5:22-cr-00139-FL-BM Document 1 Filed 06/23/22 Page 7 of 7

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