Complaint and Affidavit — United States v. Rami Saab (No. 2:22-cr-00344, E.D.N.Y.)

Summary

A complaint and arrest warrant affidavit against Rami Saab, also known as Rami Hasan, filed 06/29/22 as Document 1 in Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. It charges wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 2 and 3551 over PPP applications in or about and between June 2020 and December 2021. The affidavit of Special Agent Matthew Ammann describes PPP loans to Goodstart LLC ($164,720), Good Start Construction LLC ($903,444), VIP Pluss Inc. ($1,176,525) and Yaman Construction ($483,651), and states that the IRS could not locate filings for Goodstart, Good Start Construction or VIP Pluss. It states that Bank of America ATM cameras recorded Saab withdrawing Goodstart funds, and that the Good Start Construction, VIP Pluss and Yaman Construction applications used an IP address also used by Apple Account-1 and Account-2.

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Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti1_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 1of14 PagelD#: 1

MRM
F.# 2020R006902

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

TO BE FILED UNDER SEAL
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA COMPLAINT AND
AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT
- against - OF APPLICATION FOR AN
ARREST WARRANT
RAMI SAAB,
also known as “Rami Hasan,” (18 U.S.C. §§ 1343, 2 and 3551 et seq.)
Defendant. Case No. 22-MJ-Jog

EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, SS:

MATTHEW AMMANN, being duly sworn, affirms and states that he is a Special
Agent with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), duly appointed according to law and acting as
such.

In or about and between June 2020 and December 2021, within the Eastern
District of New York and elsewhere, the defendant RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,”
together with others, did knowingly and intentionally devise a scheme or artifice to defraud the
United States Small Business Administration (the “SBA”), in order to obtain money and property
from the SBA, to wit, proceeds of forgivable loans under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
Economic Security (“CARES”) Act, by means of one or more materially false and fraudulent
pretenses, representations and promises, and for the purpose of executing such scheme and
artifice, did transmit and cause to be transmitted, by means of wire communication in interstate

commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds, to wit, an electronic transmission of
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 2 of 14 PagelD #: 2

fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (the “PPP”) loan applications and falsified supporting

documents.

(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343, 2 and 3551 et seq.)

The source of your affiant’s information and the grounds for his belief are as
follows:!

1. I have been a Special Agent with the IRS for approximately fifteen years.
I am currently assigned to an IRS group that investigates financial crimes. As a Special Agent, I
have investigated numerous matters during the course of which I have conducted physical and
electronic surveillance, interviewed witnesses, executed court-authorized search warrants and
used other investigative techniques to secure relevant information regarding a variety of crimes.

2. I have personally participated in the investigation of fraud by the
defendant RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” as discussed below. I am familiar with
the facts and circumstances set forth below from my personal review of records, documents and
other physical evidence obtained during this investigation, and from communications and
information provided to me by fellow agents and other government personnel with knowledge
related to this investigation. Except as explicitly set forth below, I have not distinguished in this
affidavit between facts of which I have personal knowledge and facts of which I learned from

other law enforcement agents.

} Because the purpose of this Complaint is to set forth only those facts necessary
to establish probable cause to arrest the defendant RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami
Hasan,” I have not described all the relevant facts and circumstances of which I am aware.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti1_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 3of 14 PagelD #: 3

1. The Paycheck Protection Program

At all times relevant to this Complaint, unless otherwise indicated:

3. The CARES Act was a federal law enacted on or about March 29, 2020 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 up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses
for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. On or about April 24, 2020, $310
billion in additional PPP funding was authorized by Congress.

4. The PPP allowed qualifying small businesses and other organizations to
receive unsecured loans on favorable terms. Recipient businesses were obligated to use PPP
loan proceeds for certain specified expenses, including payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent
and utilities. The PPP provided for forgiveness of the loan principal and interest if recipient
businesses spent the proceeds on these specified expenses within a limited time period and used
a certain percentage for payroll costs.

5. The PPP was overseen by the SBA, which had authority over all loans.
Individual PPP loans, however, were issued by approved private lenders who received and
processed PPP applications and supporting documentation, and then, following SBA approval,
made loans using the lenders’ own funds.

6. The amount of PPP funds a business could receive was determined by the
number of employees it employed and its average payroll costs for a period of 2.5 months.
Businesses that applied for a PPP loan were required to provide documentation, such as Internal
Revenue Service (the “IRS”) Form W-3, to confirm that they had in the past paid employees the

compensation listed on the application.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 4 of 14 PagelD #: 4

Il. The Fraudulent Scheme

7. The defendant RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” was a resident
of Glen Cove, New York.

8. On or about June 13, 2020, an online application containing fraudulent
statements was submitted on behalf of Goodstart LLC (“Goodstart”) to a PPP lending institution
(“PPP Lender-1”) for a PPP loan in the amount of $164,720 (the “Goodstart Application”). The
Goodstart Application and supporting documents provided with the application represented,
among other things, that Goodstart (1) had an annual payroll of $790,656 per 2019 IRS Form
940, (2) gross receipts of $2,498,255 per a 2019 IRS Form 1040 C, and (3) 2020 first quarter
wages paid of $155,425 per a 2020 IRS Form 941. The contact information provided for
Goodstart Application included, inter alia, the borrower name of Farhad Shakeri,? the address
provided was a residential address on Sea Cliff Avenue in Glen Cove, New York (the “Glen
Cove Residence”), the phone number 516-602-9121 (the “9121 number”), and email address
farhadshakeri1973@gmail.com.

9. The Goodstart Application included a certification that the information
provided therein and all supporting documents and forms were “true and accurate,” and an
acknowledgment that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan from the
SBA is punishable under federal law.

10. On or about June 16, 2020, on the basis of the representations made in the
Goodstart Application, PPP Lender-1 issued a PPP loan to Goodstart in the amount of $164,720.

The promissory note for the loan was purportedly electronically signed by Farhad Shakeri on or

2 Information obtained from the New York State Department of Criminal Justice
Services indicated that Farhad Shakeri, with a date of birth of September 26, 1973, was
deported from the United States to Afghanistan on September 23, 2008.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti- Filed 06/29/22 Page 5of 14 PagelD #: 5

about June 16, 2020. The loan proceeds were disbursed to a bank account held in the name of
Goodstart on or about June 17, 2020. On June 16, 2020, the day prior to receipt of the loan
proceeds, the Goodstart account had a balance of approximately $1,291.

11. Between June 17, 2020, the date of the loan’s disbursement, and June 30,
2020, all PPP funds disbursed via cash ATM withdrawal and/or checks paid to other companies
which were later determined to be shell companies that also received PPP loans and transferred
PPP funds between one another. Records received for the Goodstart account do not show any of
the disbursed funds being used on payroll or legitimate business expenses.

12. Based on my review of correspondence with the IRS, the filings submitted
in connection with the Goodstart Application were not genuine, as no such filings existed.
Indeed, the IRS was not able to locate any filings relating to Goodstart.

13. Further, between on or about June 17, 2020 and June 29, 2020, various
Bank of America ATM cameras captured video of RAMI SAAB making the cash withdrawals of
PPP funds from the Goodstart account.

14. Onor about February 3, 2021, an online application containing fraudulent
statements was submitted on behalf of Good Start Construction LLC (“Good Start
Construction”) to a PPP lending institution (“PPP Lender-2”) for a PPP loan in the amount of
$903,444 (the “Good Start Construction Application”). The Good Start Construction
Application and supporting documents provided with the application represented, among other
things, that Good Start Construction (1) had an annual payroll of $4,336,532 per 2019 IRS Form
940 and (2) gross receipts of $11,934,227 per a 2019 IRS Form 1065. The contact information
provided for the Good Start Construction Application included, inter alia, the borrower name of

Farhad Shakeri, the address 1825 Steinway Street, Astoria, New York, the 9121 number, and
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti1_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 6 of 14 PagelD #: 6

email address farhadshakeri1973@gmail.com. The Good Start Construction Application was
submitted to the bank via an electronic device using IP 67.250.163.226 (the “226 IP address”).

15. | The Good Start Construction Application included a certification that the
information provided therein and all supporting documents and forms were “true and accurate,”
and an acknowledgment that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan
from the SBA is punishable under federal law.

16. Onor about February 3, 2021, on the basis of the representations made in
the Good Start Construction Application, PPP Lender-2 issued a PPP loan to Good Start
Construction in the amount of $903,444. The promissory note for the loan was purportedly
electronically signed by Farhad Shakeri on or about February 3, 2021. The loan proceeds were
disbursed to a bank account held in the name of Good Start Construction on or about February
22, 2021. On January 29, 2021, less than one month prior to receipt of the loan proceeds, the
Good Start Construction account had a balance of approximately $100. The Good Start
Construction account itself had only been opened one week prior to that.

17. Between February 22, 2021, the date of the loan’s disbursement, and
March 17, 2021, all PPP funds were disbursed via cash ATM withdrawal and/or checks paid to
other companies which were later determined to be shell companies that also received PPP loans
and transferred PPP funds between one another. Records received for the Good Start
Construction account do not show any of the disbursed funds being used on payroll or legitimate
business expenses.

18. Based on my review of correspondence with the IRS, the filings submitted
in connection with the Good Start Construction Application were not genuine, as no such filings

existed. Indeed, the IRS was not able to locate any filings relating to Good Start Construction.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 7 of 14 PagelD #: 7

19. | Onor about March 18, 2021, an online application containing fraudulent
statements was submitted on behalf of VIP Pluss Inc. (“VIP Pluss”) to a PPP lending institution
(“PPP Lender-3”) for a PPP loan in the amount of $1,176,525 (the “VIP Pluss Application”).
The VIP Pluss Application and supporting documents provided with the application represented,
among other things, that VIP Pluss (1) had an annual payroll of $5,647,331 per 2020 IRS Form
940, (2) gross receipts of $14,905,378 per a 2020 IRS Form 1040-Schedule C, (3) wages paid of
$1,478,500 per a 2020 IRS Form 941 - 3rd Quarter, and (4) wages paid of $1,478,500 per a 2020
IRS Form 941 — 4" Quarter. The contact information provided for the VIP Pluss Application
included, inter alia, the borrower name of Matthew Dye, the address 223 Glen Cove, Glen Cove,
New York, the telephone number 585-705-6278, and email address vippluss1357@yahoo.com.
The VIP Pluss Application was submitted to the bank via an electronic device using the 226 IP
address.

20. | The VIP Pluss Application included a certification that the information
provided therein and all supporting documents and forms were “true and accurate,” and an
acknowledgment that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan from the
SBA is punishable under federal law.

21. On or about March 18, 2021, on the basis of the representations made in
the VIP Pluss Application, PPP Lender-3 issued a PPP loan to VIP Pluss in the amount of
$1,176,525. The promissory note for the loan was purportedly electronically signed by Mathew
Dye on or about March 18, 2021. The loan proceeds were disbursed to a bank account held in
the name of VIP Pluss on or about May 3, 2021. On April 30, 2021, less than one week prior to
receipt of the loan proceeds, the VIP Pluss account had a balance of approximately less than oné

dollar.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 8 of 14 PagelD #: 8

22. Between May 3, 2021, the date of the loan’s disbursement, and June 8,
2021, all PPP funds were disbursed via cash ATM withdrawal and/or checks paid to other
companies which were later determined to be shell companies that also received PPP loans and
transferred PPP funds between one another. Records received for the VIP Pluss account do not
show any of the disbursed funds being used on payroll or legitimate business expenses.

23. Based on my review of correspondence with the IRS, the filings submitted
in connection with the VIP Pluss Application were not genuine, as no such filings existed.
Indeed, the IRS was not able to locate any filings relating to VIP Pluss.

24. | Onor about March 30, 2021, an online application containing fraudulent
statements was submitted on behalf of Yaman Construction (“Yaman Construction”) to a PPP
lending institution (“PPP Lender-4”) for a PPP loan in the amount of $483,651 (the “Yaman
Construction Application”). The Yaman Construction Application and supporting documents
provided with the application represented, among other things, that Yaman Construction (1) had
an annual payroll of $2,211,900 per 2020 IRS Form 940, (2) net sales of $1,275,878 per a 2019 —
24 Quarter Income Statement, (3) net sales of $113,201 per a 2020 — 2™ Quarter Income
Statement, and (4) gross receipts of $5,095,513 per a 2019 IRS Form 1065. The contact
information provided for the Yaman Construction Application included, inter alia, the borrower
name of Fares Chahine, the address 10 Cedar Swamp Road, Suite 2, Glen Cove, New York, the
telephone number 347-707-9534 (the “9534 number”), and email address
yamanalmestrehi@gmail.com. The Yaman Construction Application was submitted to the
bank via an electronic device using the 226 IP address.

25. | The Yaman Construction Application included a certification that the

information provided therein and all supporting documents and forms were “true and accurate,”
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 9 of 14 PagelD #: 9

and an acknowledgment that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan
from the SBA is punishable under federal law.

26. On or about March 30, 2021, on the basis of the representations made in
the Yaman Construction Application, PPP Lender-4 issued a PPP loan to Yaman Construction in
the amount of $483,651. The promissory note for the loan was purportedly electronically signed
by Fares Chahine on or about March 30, 2021. The loan proceeds were disbursed to a bank
account held in the name of Yaman Construction on or about April 2, 2021. On March 25,
2021, one week prior to receipt of the loan proceeds, the Yaman Construction account had a
balance of approximately less than $82.

27. Between April 2, 2021, the date of the loan’s disbursement, and June 9,
2021, all PPP funds were disbursed via cash ATM withdrawal and/or checks paid to other
companies which were later determined to be shell companies that also received PPP loans and
transferred PPP funds between one another. Records received for the Yaman Construction
account do not show any of the disbursed funds being used on payroll or legitimate business
expenses.

28. Based on my review of correspondence with the IRS, the filings submitted
in connection with the Yaman Construction Application were not genuine, as no such filings
existed. Indeed, the IRS was not able to locate any filings relating to Yaman Construction.

29. | Onor about May 7, 2021, an online application containing fraudulent
statements was submitted on behalf of R&M Thera Inc. (“R&M Thera”) to a PPP lending
institution (“PPP Lender-5”) for a PPP loan in the amount of $864,950 (the “R&M Thera
Application”). The R&M Thera Application and supporting documents provided with the

application represented, among other things, that R&M Thera (1) had an annual payroll of
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 10 of 14 PagelD #:
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$4,151,760 per 2020 IRS Form 940 and (2) gross receipts of $9,986,771 per 2020 IRS Form
1120. The contact information provided for the R&M Thera Application included, inter alia, the
borrower name of Mohamed Farahat, the address 10105 Astoria Boulevard, East Elmhurst, New
York, the telephone number 929-233-0014 (the “0014 number”), and email address
nyc59karrots@gmail.com. The R&M Thera Application was submitted to the bank via an
electronic device using the 226 IP address.

30. | The R&M Thera Application included a certification that the information
provided therein and all supporting documents and forms were “true and accurate,” and an
acknowledgment that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan from the
SBA is punishable under federal law.

31. On or about May 7, 2021, on the basis of the representations made in the
R&M Thera Application, PPP Lender-5 issued a PPP loan to R&M Thera in the amount of
$864,950. The promissory note for the loan was purportedly electronically signed by Mohamed
Farahat on or about May 7, 2021. The loan proceeds were disbursed to a bank account held in
the name of R&M Thera on or about May 14, 2021. On May 13, 2021, one day prior to receipt
of the loan proceeds, the R&M Thera account had a balance of approximately less than $12,900
dollar. This prior account balance was the result of funds obtained from the activity detailed
above.

32. | Between May 13, 2021, the date of the loan’s disbursement, and May 27,
2021, all PPP funds were disbursed via cash ATM withdrawal and/or checks paid to other
companies which were later determined to be shell companies that also received PPP loans and

transferred PPP funds between one another. Records received for the R&M Thera Construction
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti1- Filed 06/29/22 Page 11 of 14 PagelD #:
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account do not show any of the disbursed funds being used on payroll or legitimate business
expenses.

33. Based on my review of correspondence with the IRS, the filings submitted
in connection with the R&M Thera Application were not genuine, as no such filings existed.
Indeed, the IRS was not able to locate any filings relating to R&M Thera.

34. | Onor about March 13, 2021, an online application containing fraudulent
statements was submitted on behalf of Elmhurst Construction LLC (“Elmhurst Construction”) to
PPP lending institution (“PPP Lender-6”) for a PPP loan in the amount of $460,812 (the
“Elmhurst Construction Application”), The Elmhurst Construction Application and supporting
documents provided with the application represented, among other things, that Elmhurst
Construction (1) gross sales of $1,084,133 per a 2019 — 2" Quarter Income Statement and (2)
gross sales of $339,609 per a 2020 — 2™4 Quarter Income Statement. The contact information
provided for the Elmhurst Construction Application included, inter alia, the borrower name of
Farhad Shakeri, the address provided was the Glen Cove Residence, the phone numbers provided
were 9121 number and the 0014 number, and email address
elmhurstconstruction123@yahoo.com. The Elmhurst Construction Application was submitted
to the bank via an electronic device using the 226 IP address.

35. | The Elmhurst Construction Application included a certification that the
information provided therein and all supporting documents and forms were “true and accurate,”
and an acknowledgment that knowingly making a false statement to obtain a guaranteed loan
from the SBA is punishable under federal law.

36. Onor about March 25, 2021, an individual purporting to be Farhad

Shakeri contacts PPP Lender-6 to check on the status of the Elmhurst Construction Application.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti- Filed 06/29/22 Page 12 of 14 PagelD #:
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The call was recorded by PPP Lender-6. I have reviewed a copy of the recorded call.?_ During
the call the representative from PPP Lender-6 requested the Social Security Number associated
with the loan. The caller was unable to promptly provide the answer and needed approximately
30 seconds to provide the Social Security Number. Based upon records provided by PPP
Lender-6, the call described above originated from the 9534 number. During the call, the
number that the caller provided to the representative of PPP Lender-6 was the 9121 number.
During the call, the caller provided the Glen Cove Residence as the residential address of the
loan applicant.

37. Based on my review of correspondence with the IRS, the filings submitted
in connection with the Elmhurst Construction Application were not genuine, as no such filings
existed. Indeed, the IRS was not able to locate any filings relating to Elmhurst Construction.

38. On or about June 2, 2022, RAMI SAAB was encountered at John F.
Kennedy International Airport, Queens, New York, after returning to the United States via a
flight from Istanbul, Turkey. When encountered at the border cross, Customs and Border Patrol
(“CBP”) conducted an interview of SAAB. During that non-custodial interview, SAAB
provided the following, inter alia, the following information: (1) he was returning home from a
trip to Jordan to visit family; (2) he resides at the Glen Cove Residence; (3) his cell phone
number is 917-324-1661 (the “1661 number”); (4) his email address is Rami.Saab@yahoo.com
(the “SAAB email address”); and (5) he did not have plans to travel internationally in the near

future.

3 I have also had the opportunity to review a copy of a recorded interview between
RAMI SAAB and Customs and Border Patrol (see paragraph 38 herein) and the voice on the
recorded call claiming to be Shakeri sounds the same as SAAB during the recorded
interview.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti1- Filed 06/29/22 Page 13 of 14 PagelD #:
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39. Thereafter, law enforcement submitted a subpoena to Apple seeking
information for any iCloud accounts associated with the name RAMI SAAB, the 1661 number
and the SAAB email account. On or about June 16, 2022, Apple provided law enforcement with
a response to the above-referenced subpoena which revealed the following: there were three
Apple iCloud accounts (collectively, the “iCloud Accounts”) linked to the information submitted
by law enforcement in the subpoena.

40. The first account provided by Apple (hereinafter “Account-1”) had the
1661 number listed as its “day phone” for Account-1 and the SAAB email address as the email
for Account-1. The “verified number” for Account-1 was the 9121 number. Additionally, the
username for Account-1] was “Ra Sa.”

41. | The second account provided by Apple (hereinafter “Account-2”) had the
1661 number listed as its “verified phone” for Account-2. Additionally, the “day number” for
Account-2 was the 9534 number.

42. Additionally, the information provided by Apple for Account-1 and
Account-2 included information referred to by Apple as the “Client IP NR.”* The Client IP NR
information for both Account-1 and Account-2 include the 226 IP address as an IP which the
Account-1 and Account-2 have used in the past.

III. Conclusion

WHEREFORE, your affiant respectfully requests that an arrest warrant be issued

for the defendant RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” so that he may be dealt with

according to law. I further request that the Court order that this application, including the

4 The Client IP NR, stands for client IP number, and according to Apple that is the IP
address of the device from which user activity occurred.
Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Documenti_ Filed 06/29/22 Page 14 of 14 PagelD #:
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affidavit and arrest warrant, be sealed until further order of the Court, except that it may be
shared with the defendant and defense counsel following his arrest in connection with his initial
presentment. Disclosure of this application and these orders would seriously jeopardize the
ongoing investigation, as such disclosure would give the targets of the investigation an -
opportunity to destroy evidence, harm or threaten victims or other witnesses, change patterns of

behavior, notify confederates or flee from or evade prosecution.

MATTHEW AMMANN
Special Agent, Internal Revenue Service

Sworn to before me this a
29 day of, Jane, 2022

THE HONORABLE ARLENE R. LINDSA
UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDG
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK


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