Affidavit in Support of a Criminal Complaint — Christina Rosen (No. 1:24-cr-10196, D. Mass.)

Summary

An affidavit in support of a criminal complaint, filed February 13, 2024 as Document 4-1 in No. 1:24-cr-10196-WGY in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, sworn by Special Agent Christina Rosen of the Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. It supports a charge against Jameela Gross of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343. The affidavit states that Gross applied on or about April 14, 2021 for a PPP loan from Prestamos CDFI, LLC, reporting 2020 gross income of $90,000 from a portrait photography business, and that $18,750 was deposited on May 11, 2021. It states that IRS records show no photography business and that $17,287 was withdrawn in cash the next day. It also states that a search of the listed business address found no evidence of a photography studio.

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            Case 1:24-cr-10196-WGY Document 4-1 Filed 02/13/24 Page 1 of 6




                 AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT

        I, Special Agent Christina Rosen, being sworn, state as follows:

                                        INTRODUCTION

            1.    I am employed as a Special Agent with the United States Department of Labor,

 Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations (“DOL OIG”) in Boston, Massachusetts.

 My responsibilities as a Special Agent with DOL OIG include investigating fraud, waste, and

 abuse of Department of Labor programs, employees, and departments. I have been employed

 by the United States government as a Special Agent since October 2007. I am a graduate of the

 Criminal Investigator Training Program of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in

 Glynco, Georgia, and have received extensive training in criminal investigation procedures and

 criminal law. In 2005, I graduated from Northeastern University with a bachelor’s degree in

 criminal justice. In 2006, I graduated from Boston University with a master’s degree in criminal

 justice.

        2.        During my tenure as a Special Agent, I have conducted investigations of several

types of criminal activity, including work visa fraud, unemployment insurance fraud, CARES

Act fraud, false claims fraud, employee benefits fraud, identity theft, and money laundering.

During the investigation of these cases, I have participated in the execution of search and arrest

warrants and have seized evidence as evidence, fruits, and/or instrumentalities of violations of

federal law.

                                   PURPOSE OF AFFIDAVIT

        3.       I submit this affidavit in support of a criminal complaint against Jameela GROSS

 (“GROSS”) for a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343 (wire fraud) (the “TARGET OFFENSE”). As
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    set forth below, there is probable cause to believe that GROSS committed the TARGET

    OFFENSE.

          4.     The facts in this affidavit come from my personal observations and review of

records, my training and experience, and information obtained from other agents and witnesses.

This affidavit is intended to show merely that there is probable cause for the requested criminal

complaint and does not set forth all my knowledge about this matter.

                              SUMMARY OF PROBABLE CAUSE

I.        Relevant Individuals and Entities

          5.     GROSS lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

          6.     Prestamos CDFI, LLC (“Prestamos”) is a financial institution based in Arizona. It

    was an approved lender of Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loans.

          7.     South Shore Bank is a financial institution based in Massachusetts.

II.       The CARES ACT and the Paycheck Protection Program

          8.     The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is a federal

law enacted on March 29, 2020, designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions

of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

          9.     The CARES Act authorized forgivable loans to small businesses and non-profits

for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP.

          10.    To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business had to submit a PPP loan application

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 the PPP loan application, the small business, through its authorized

representative, had to state, among other things, its number of employees and its average monthly





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payroll expenses. These figures were used to calculate the amount of a PPP loan that the business

was eligible to receive; typically, a business was eligible to receive a loan equal to two-and-a-half

times its average monthly payroll expenses. In addition, businesses applying for a PPP loan had

to provide documentation of their payroll expenses.

           11.   A PPP loan application had to be processed by a lender authorized by the U.S.

Small Business Administration (“SBA”). If a PPP loan application was approved, the participating

lender funded the PPP loan using its own monies, which were 100 percent guaranteed by the SBA.

Data from the loan application was transmitted regularly by the lender to the SBA in the course of

processing the loan.

           12.   PPP loan proceeds had to be used by the recipient business on certain permissible

expenses, including payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the

interest and principal on the PPP loan to be forgiven entirely if the business spent the loan proceeds

on these permissible expenses within a designated period and used a certain percentage of the PPP

loan proceeds on payroll expenses.

    III.    GROSS’ Prestamos PPP Loan for $18,750

           13.   On or about April 14, 2021, GROSS applied for a PPP loan to Prestamos.

Prestamos authorized the loan application package on April 14, 2021, approved of the loan’s

disbursement on April 29, 2021, and deposited the loan proceeds of $18,750 into GROSS’ South

Shore Bank checking account ending in 7584 (“7584 Account”) on May 11, 2021.

           14.   According to the loan application, GROSS is the 100% owner of the company and

listed the year of establishment as 2020. The application listed the address of the company as in

Dorchester Center, Massachusetts.       The application also provided GROSS’s social security

number, email address, and phone number.





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       15.     The application stated that the company’s gross income from 2020 was $90,000.

       16.     GROSS further checked on the application that she intended to use the proceeds for

payroll costs, utilities, rent/mortgage, and other (GROSS did not specify what she meant by “other”).

       17.     As part of the application, GROSS also submitted a Massachusetts Identification

Card, number S10225532, issued on May 25, 2018. In addition to a photo of the card, GROSS

provided a selfie. The individual in the selfie appears to be the same individual pictured in the

identification card.

       18.     GROSS submitted an IRS Schedule C for the 2020 tax year. The Schedule C

indicated GROSS’ principal business was “Photography Studios, Portrait,” the gross receipts from

the business were $90,000, and the expenses included advertising in the amount of $25,000 and

utilities in the amount $25,000, resulting in a net profit of $40,000.

       19.     Although IRS records do show records of tax returns filed under GROSS’ social

security number for the tax years 2019 and 2020, none of the tax returns identify any

photography business. GROSS filed W-2s identifying employment with Abington Donuts Inc.

and 110 Grill Management LLC in 2019. In 2020, GROSS filed W-2s identifying employment

with 110 Grill Management LLC, Guardian Security Services Inc., Dunkin Donuts, as well as a

Schedule 1 identifying that she received unemployment compensation.1        In fact, the Schedule C

GROSS submitted with her PPP application was not part of her 2020 tax return nor were


                               
1
 On March 26, 2020, GROSS applied for COVID unemployment insurance (“UI”) and listed the
same social security number, identification card number, and phone number as her PPP
application. Within the application, GROSS listed her employment as 110 Grill Management
LLC. GROSS received $22,095 in UI in 2020 and $19,476 in 2021. Of that amount,
approximately $11,717 entered the 7584 Account. On December 26, 2021, GROSS filed a new
UI application, listing her employment as Dunkin Donuts, Stop and Shop, Popeyes Louisiana
Kitchen, Inc., Goldfish Swim School, Guardian Security Services, and Mister Donut. GROSS’
application was denied. Notably, in neither application did GROSS mention her photography
business.


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GROSS’ gross profits from her photography business mentioned in her Individual Tax Return

Form 1040. Therefore, I believe the Schedule C GROSS provided in support of her PPP loan

application, which bears her name and social security number, was not filed with the IRS and

prepared for the sole purpose of fraudulently obtaining the loan under fraudulent means.

       20.     According to records from South Shore Bank, the 7584 Account was opened on or

about October 9, 2018. The account signature card does not mention the account being used for

business purposes. GROSS provided the same Massachusetts Identification Card as proof of

identification to open the 7584 Account. A review of the monthly statements for the 7584 Account

for the period of December 21, 2019, through January 20, 2021, indicates that the 7584 Account

was funded by several sources, none of which appeared consistent or having the characteristics of

an ongoing business. These sources include ATM cash deposits, CashApp transfers, check

deposits from temporary employment agencies, and Massachusetts DUA unemployment income.

Further, the total deposits throughout this period totaled approximately $13,350, significantly less

than the $90,000 GROSS claimed to have earned in 2020 in her application to Prestamos.

       21.     A review of the 7584 Account’s activity from April 21, 2021, through May 20,

2021, was also conducted. During this period, on May 11, 2021, the account was credited $18,750

in PPP loan proceeds from Prestamos. The following day, May 12, 2021, GROSS withdrew

$17,287 in cash from South Shore Bank’s Wollaston Branch in Quincy, Massachusetts. According

to bank documents, at the time of the withdrawal, GROSS presented her Massachusetts

Identification Card and explained to the bank teller the cash was withdrawn for a bill payment.

The teller offered GROSS a bank check, but GROSS preferred cash. In addition to this withdrawal

of nearly all the loan proceeds, GROSS also withdrew an additional $500 from two different ATMs

later that day, $300 in Avon, Massachusetts and $200 in Brockton, Massachusetts. In addition to





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$17,787 in cash withdrawals, GROSS transferred $600 to CashApp users “Lisa Mu” and

“Jaquori.” These uses of $18,387 in loan proceeds do not appear as acceptable uses of PPP funds

for an ongoing business.

       22.    Finally, on February 17, 2021, approximately two months prior to the application

date, the Boston Police Department executed a search warrant at the business address on GROSS’

PPP application in Dorchester Center, Massachusetts. During the search, no evidence of a

photography studio was observed at the location.

                                        CONCLUSION

       23.    Therefore, based on the information summarized herein, there is probable cause to

believe that on or about April 14, 2021, JAMEELA GROSS knowingly and with the intent to

defraud, executed a scheme to obtain money, funds, and property from the SBA by means of

materially false and fraudulent representations, pretenses, and promises made in connection with

the submission of her PPP loan applications in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.



                                          _________________________________
                                          Christina Rosen
                                          Special Agent
                                          Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General


ATTESTED and SWORN to before me telephonically in accordance with the requirements of
Fed. R. Crim. P. 4.1 on February _____, 2024.




___________________________
Hon. Donald L. Cabell
Chief United States Magistrate Judge
District of Massachusetts


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