Felony Information — United States v. Giuseppe Mirenda (District of Utah)

Summary

A Felony Information filed February 27, 2024 as Document 56 in United States of America versus Giuseppe Mirenda, Case 2:22-cr-00246-HCN, in the United States District Court for the District of Utah. Counts 1-2 charge conversion of government property under 18 U.S.C. § 641. The United States Attorney alleges that from around March 2020 Mirenda obtained approximately $1,889,400 in EIDL-Loan funds for Italian restaurant businesses and used approximately $1,118,551.31 of those funds to purchase two houses, one in West Jordan, Utah and one in Las Vegas, Nevada. Count 1 is a $610,204.85 transfer on 10/28/2020 and Count 2 a $508,346.46 transfer on 8/6/2021. The forfeiture notice names $695,711.60 and $555,757.69 in proceeds from the sale of the two properties.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used

Cite this document

“Felony Information — United States v. Giuseppe Mirenda (District of Utah).” Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/56-superseding-felony-information-as-to-giuseppe-mirenda-1-coun-6fa0642545/, SHA-256 2fd5fb192a0b472a9cce1d81c52e41be4ef34770f505a6be7334200d5438c839.

Full text

Case 2:22-cr-00246-HCN Document 56 Filed 02/27/24 PageID.236 Page 1 of 5

TRINA A. HIGGINS, United States Attorney (#7349)
TODD C. BOUTON, Assistant United States Attorney (#17800)
Attorneys for the United States of America
Office of the United States Attorney
111 South Main Street, Suite 1800
Salt Lake City, Utah 84111-2176
Telephone: (801) 524-5682
Email: todd.bouton@usdoj.gov

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF UTAH

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Case No. 2:22-cr-00246-CW

Plaintiff, FELONY INFORMATION

vs. COUNTS 1-2: 18 U.S.C. § 641,
Conversion of Government Property
GIUSEPPE MIRENDA,

Defendant.

The United States Attorney alleges:

BACKGROUND ALLEGATIONS

At all times relevant to this Information:

The Defendant

1. The defendant, GIUSEPPE MIRENDA (MIRENDA), was a resident of Salt

Lake County, Utah who was born in Italy.

2. After coming to America, MIRENDA, Relative 1, and Relative 2 started

Italian restaurant businesses in Utah including Sicilia Mia 1, Sicilia Mia 2, Sicilia Mia

LLC, Antica Sicilia LLC, and Bella Sicilia LLC (the Italian Restaurant Businesses).
Case 2:22-cr-00246-HCN Document 56 Filed 02/27/24 PageID.237 Page 2 of 5

The CARES Act

3. Near the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, Congress passed

the CARES Act to provide relief to certain small business owners and others who were

expected to struggle during the pandemic.

4. As part of the CARES Act, Congress authorized the U.S. Small Business

Association (SBA) to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL Loans) of up to $2

million to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the

COVID-19 pandemic. 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 Loan.

Conversion of EIDL-Loan Funds

5. Beginning in or around March 2020, within the District of Utah and

elsewhere, MIRENDA obtained approximately $1,889,400 in EIDL-Loan funds for his

Italian Restaurant Businesses.

6. In his EIDL-Loan applications and related loan agreements, MIRENDA

represented and agreed that the EIDL-Loan funds would be used by his Italian Restaurant

Businesses solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused to his restaurant

businesses by the COVID-19 pandemic.

7. Even though MIRENDA understood and agreed that the EIDL-Loan funds

were to be used by his Italian Restaurant Businesses solely as working capital to alleviate

economic injury caused to the businesses by the COVID-19 pandemic, MIRENDA used

approximately $1,118,551.31 of those EIDL-Loan funds to purchase two houses. One of

those houses was in West Jordan, Utah. The other house was in Las Vegas, Nevada.

2
Case 2:22-cr-00246-HCN Document 56 Filed 02/27/24 PageID.238 Page 3 of 5

8. MIRENDA and some of his family members than lived, for a time, in the

West Jordan, Utah house.

9. To purchase the two houses, MIRENDA specifically:

a. Transferred approximately $610,204.85 of the EIDL-Loan funds he

obtained on behalf of his Italian Restaurant Businesses to an escrow

account to purchase the house in West Jordan, Utah; and

b. Transferred approximately $508,346.46 of those same EIDL-Loan funds

to another escrow account to purchase the house in Las Vegas, Nevada.

COUNTS 1-2
18 U.S.C. § 641
(Conversion of Government Property)

10. The allegations set forth above in this Information are incorporated herein by

reference and realleged as though fully set forth herein.

11. Beginning in or around March 2020 and continuing to at least August 6,

2021, in the District of Utah and elsewhere,

GIUSEPPE MIRENDA,

defendant herein, did willfully and knowingly convert money belonging to the United

States Small Business Administration, a department or agency of the United States, in an

amount greater than $1,000.00, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641.

12. In particular, MIRENDA used approximately $1,118,551.31 in EIDL-Loan

funds to purchase one house in West Jordan, Utah and another house in Las Vegas, Nevada.

When MIRENDA used the EIDL-Loan funds to purchase the two houses, MIRENDA

knew that the EIDL-Loan funds were authorized to be used by his Italian Restaurant
3
Case 2:22-cr-00246-HCN Document 56 Filed 02/27/24 PageID.239 Page 4 of 5

Businesses solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused to them by the

COVID-19 pandemic, and not to purchase personal residences or houses for MIRENDA

or his family.

13. Notwithstanding MIRENDA’s knowledge and understanding of the

restrictions on the authorized use of EIDL-Loan funds, MIRENDA purchased the two

houses and even lived with his family in the West Jordan house for a time.

14. The conversion of the EIDL-Loan funds to purchase each of the two houses

constitutes two separate counts of this Information:

COUNT DATE UNAUTHORIZED HOUSE PURCHASES
(on or about) WITH EIDL-LOAN FUNDS
$610,204.85 transfer from Wells Fargo Account ending in 4529
1 10/28/2020 to US Title Insurance Agency Escrow account ending in 04894.
(To purchase West Jordan, UT house).
$508,346.46 transfer from Wells Fargo Account ending in 6755
2 8/6/2021 to Fidelity National Title Agency account ending in 24787.
(To purchase Las Vegas, NV house)

All in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641.

NOTICE OF INTENT TO SEEK FORFEITURE

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), upon conviction of

any offense charged herein in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641, the defendant shall forfeit to

the United States of America any property, real or personal, involved in such offenses, and

any property traceable to such property. The property to be forfeited includes, but is not

limited to, the following:

 $695,711.60 as proceeds from the sale of the property located at 2448 West

6830 South, West Jordan, Utah 84084; and

4
Case 2:22-cr-00246-HCN Document 56 Filed 02/27/24 PageID.240 Page 5 of 5

 $555,757.69 as proceeds from the sale of the property located at 3179

Paintedhills Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89120.

TRINA A. HIGGINS
United States Attorney

TODD C. BOUTON
Assistant United States Attorney

File and source

File: 56-superseding-felony-information-as-to-giuseppe-mirenda-1-coun.pdf
Size: 199,786 bytes
SHA-256: 2fd5fb192a0b472a9cce1d81c52e41be4ef34770f505a6be7334200d5438c839
Our copy: 56-superseding-felony-information-as-to-giuseppe-mirenda-1-coun.pdf
Original: No public link identified.