Criminal Complaint — United States v. Keyaira Bostic (S.D. Fla., Dkt. 1)
Summary
A criminal complaint against Keyaira Bostic with a supporting IRS Criminal Investigation affidavit by Michael Benivegna, Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH, in the Southern District of Florida, Document 1, entered August 4, 2020. The complaint cites 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2, 1344 and 2, and 1349 for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy or attempt to commit wire and bank fraud. The affidavit alleges that Bostic obtained a fraudulent PPP loan of $84,515 for Liquid, based on an average monthly payroll of $33,806. It states that the conspirators planned or prepared at least 90 fraudulent applications and describes text messages between Bostic and a cooperating person about referrals. The document includes a cover sheet.
Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below and checked by script against that text before publication. It is a navigation aid, not a reading of what the document proves. Where AI is used
Cite this document
“Criminal Complaint — United States v. Keyaira Bostic (S.D. Fla., Dkt. 1).”
Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/court-filing-no-0-20-mj-06317-dkt-1-s-d-fla-dceb14520a/
, SHA-256 8bbb8e609a2d4521fed1e2957a1d3da47c40b8ee55b8dc9fb2727cbf3835db1d.Full text
Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 1 of 16
AO91(11.v:0&'f)9) CrtmlnalComplalnl
U NITED STATESD ISTRIC'I'C OURT
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CRIM INAL COM PLAINT
Isthecom plainantin thiscase,statttthatthc fbllowingistrueto the bestofn1y know ledgeand belief
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18U.S.C.ââ1344and2 BankFraud
18U.S.C.j1349 Conspiracy/AttempttoComm i
tW ireandBankFraud
Thiscriminalcomplaintisbasedonthestfacts:
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Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 2 of 16
AFFIDA W T
1,M ichaelBenivegna,beingfirstduly sw orn,hereby deposeandstateasfollows:
IN TRO DU CH O N A ND A GEN T BACK G RO UND
I m ake this Affidavit in supportof a crim inalcomplaint charging K EYA IRA
BOSTIC (':BOSTIC''or'tDefendanf'),with wirefraud,bankfmud,attemptandconspiracyto
commitwirefraudandbankfraud,inviolationof18U.S.C.jj1343,1344,1349,and2,from on
oraboutM ay l8,2020 to on oraboutJuly 20,2020,in the Southern D istrictofFlorida,and
elsewhere(theSll-argetOffenses'').
Defkndanthasparticipated in a scheme to obtain by fraud m illionsofdollars in
forgivable loansthrough the Paycheck Protection Program (i$PPP'')and othergovernment
progranas,conspiringwithapersonnow cooperatingwitlatheinvestigation(SSCHS29')andothers.
DefendantobtainedafraudulentPPPloanforherowncompany,IAm LiqtlidInc.t:tLiqtlid''l,with
CH S 2 providing falsified docum ents and subm itting the application on Defendant's behalf.
Defendantalso conspired to subm ita num berofadditionalfraudtllentPPP loan applicationsfor
othercom paniesbyrecruitingothercontkderateloanapplicants,inorderto receivekickbacksfrom
thoseconfedemtes.To inflatethesizeofthesePPP loans,and thecorrespondingkickbacks,the
conspirators relied on a variety of false statem ents,including by subm itting falsifsed bank
statementsandpayrolltax form s.Forexam ple,theconspiratorsused nearly identicalversionsof
thesam efabricated bank statem ents,recycled inthePPP applicationsform ultiplecom panieswith
m inorchanges.
3. The conspirators in the schem e planned or prepared at least 90 fraudulent
applications,mostofwhich were sublnitted. Based on theevidence investigatorshave reviewed
todate,CHS2,Defendant,andtheirco-conspiratorsapplied forPPP loansthataretogetherworth
Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 3 of 16
morethan$24milliondollars,withatleastapproximately42ofthoseloansapprovedandfunded
foratotalofapproximately$l7.4million.CertainofthoseIoanrecipientsthenwiredakickback
of varying am ounts,often approxim ately 25% of the fraudulentloan proceeds,to an account
controlledby CH S2.
Iam a SpecialA gentw ith the United StatesDepartm entOfThe Treasury,lntcrnal
RevenueService,CriminallnvestigationC$1RS-CI'')andhave% enemployedinthiscapacitysince
O ctober2016. lam presentlyassigned tothe M iam iField Oftk e. M y dutiesasa SpecialAgent
includetheinvestigationofpossiblecriminalviolationsofthelnternalRevenueCode(Title26of
theUnitedStatesCode),theBankSecrecyAct(Title31oftheUnitedStatesCode),andtheMoney
Laundering Statutes(Title l8 ofthe United States Code).Igraduated from the Criminal
InvestigatorTraining Program attheFederalLaw Enforcem entTraining CenterinApril2017 and
the SpecialA gent Investigative Techniques program at the NaticmalCrim inallnvestigation
Training Academy in July 2017. ln thesetw o program s,lstudied a variety of1aw enforcement
tacticsandcrim inalinvestigatortechniquesrelatingto tax and financialcrimes.Since becom ing
an IRS-CISpecialAgent,Ihavepersonally investigated and assisted in investigationsrelating to
thelnternalRevenueLawsandtsnancialcrimes.Recently,Ihavebeenassignedtoworkwiththe
U.S.D epartmentofJustice and other1aw enforcem entpartners,including the FederalBureau of
lnvestigation and the SmallBusiness Adm inistration Oftk e ofInspectorGenem l,to investigate
possible fraud associated w ith the stim ulus and econom ic assistance program screated by the
federalgovernmentinresponsetotheC0W D-19progum .
n e factsin thisA flidavitcom e from n1y personalobservations,my training and
experience,andinformationobtainedfrom otherm em bersof1aw enforcementand from witnesses.
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ThisAffidavitisintendedtoshow merelythatthereissuftkientprobablecauseanddoesnotset
forth a1lofmy know ledgeaboutthismatter.l
PRO BA BLE CAUSE
ThePavcheckProtection'zwfrlzz?
n eCoronavirusAid,Relief,andEconomicSecurity(ûVCARES'')Actisafedeml
law enacted in oraroundM amh 2020 and designed to provide em ergency Gnancialassistanceto
the m illions ofA mericans who are suffering the econom ic effects caused by the COVlD-19
pandemic.Onesourceofreliefprovided bytheCARESActwastheauthorizationofupto$349
billioninforgivableloanstosmallbusinessesforjobretentionandcertainotherexpenses,through
aprogram referredtoasthePPP.InoraroundApril2020,Congressauthorizedover$300billion
in additionalPPP funding.
ln order to obtain a PPP loan,a qualifying business m ust subm it a PPP loan
application,w hich is signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan
application requiresthe business (through itsauthorized representative)to acknowledge the
program rulesand m akecertain affinuative certificationsin orderto beeligibleto obtainthePPP
loan.InthePPPloanapplication,thesmallbusiness(tlaroughitsauthorizedrepresentative)must
state,amongotherthings,its:(a)averagemonthlypayrollexpenses;and(b)numberofemployees.
These figuresare used to calculatetheam ountofm oney thesm allbusinessiseligibleto receive
under the PPP. ln addition,businesses applying for a PPP loan m ust provide documentation
show ingtheirpayrollexpenses.
1 The conductand chargesdescribed inthisAffidavitarepartofa largerinvestigation that
is being conducted in this Districtand elsewhere. As a result,notallnulnbered sources and
anonymousindividualsand entitiesaredescribed ineveryfiling.Ihave included inthisAffidavit
onlythoseindividualsandentities1havedeem ednecessary toexplaintheparticularfactssetforth
here.
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8. A PPP loan applicationm ustbeprocessed byaparticipating lender.lfaPPP loan
application isapproved,the padicipating lenderfundsthePPP Ioan using itsown m onies,w hich
are100% guaranteedbytheSmallBusinessAdministration(t$SBA'').Datafrom theapplication,
including information aboutthe borrower,the totalam ountofthe loan,and the listed numberof
employees,istransmittedbythelendertotheSBA inthecourseofprocessingtheIoan.
9. PPP loanproceedsmustbeusedbythebusinesscm certainpermissibleexpenses
payrollcosts,intereston m ortgages,rent,and utilities. ThePPP allowsthe interestand principal
on thePPP loan to beentirely forgiven ifthe btlsinessspendsthe loan proceedsontheseexpense
item sw ithinadesignatedperiod oftim eafterreceivingtheproceedsand usesa certain am ountof
thePPP loan proceedsonpayrollexpenses.
TheSchem eto Obtain FraudulentPPP Loans
10. OnoraboutM ay 13,2020,PhillipJ.Augustin(tiAugustin'')andCHS2worked
togethertosubmitafraudulentPPP loanapplicationonbthalfofacompanyownedbyAugustin.
AugustinsubmittedaPPP loanof$84,515toafederally insuredbank(hereinafterûdBank3'5),
throughathird-partycompanyprocessor(hereinafter:sBankProcessor1'').2 Theapplication
includedbank statementsthatareclearforgeries,and CHS2 hasadm ittedthatthtapplication was
based on docum entsthathe falsified fbrAugustin.3
2 A 1lbanks referenced in this Affidavit are insured by the FederalD eposit lnsurance
Corporation.
3 OnJune25,2020,investigatorsarrested CH S2 and anotherperson now cooperating with
theinvestigation(tiCHS391)andexecutedsearchwarrantsattheirresidences.Followinghisarrest,
CH S2 choseto cooperatew iththe investigation inthe hopeofobtaining favorable consideration
in connectionw ith hispendingcharges.CH S2 wasinterviewed onthatday,and hascontinuedto
cooperate w ith the investigation afterobtaining counsel. M ostofhisstatementsrelated herein
havebeen corrobom ted by recordsobtained from third partiesorrecovered from hiselectronic
devices.
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Follow ingthesuccessofthatinitialfraudulentPPP application,AugustinandCH S
2 began to work on obtaining m ore and largerPPP loansfbrAugustin'sassociatesand others,
generallyforseveralhundredthousanddollarsforeachloan,uptoasmuchasapproximately$1.24
m illion. Based on the evidence investigators have reviewed so far,CH S 2 and Augustin
collectivelycoordinatedapplicationsforPPP Ioansthataretogetherworthmorethan$24million
dollars.TheevidencealsoshowsmanymorePPPloanswereattemptedbutrejectedbybanksor
their partners,orwere planned and prepared,butnotsubm itted before CH S 2's arrest. The
evidence suggests thata1lor nearly alIof those loan applications w ere fraudulent,including
Defendant'sloan application and the applicationsDefendantorchestrated by refeningadditional
confederatesto the conspiracy.
Investigators have obtained m any other PPP loan applications that CH S 2 has
adm ittedhesubm ittedaspartofthisschem e,basedonfalsified docum ents,andhavealso obtained
draftdocumentsusedorintendedtobeusedinthoseapplicationsorothers.Theseapplicationsall
follow the sam e pattern of fraud m any w ith obviously counterfeit February 2020 bank
statements,andallwithfabricated1RSForms941(titled,idEmployer'sQuarterly FederalTax
Return'')withthesameindiciaoffraudfoundinAugustin'sinitialapplication butgenerallywith
even largerinflated payrollnum bers,thusyielding much largerloans.4 CH S 2 hasexplained to
investigatorsthatthe figuresin theFonns941were theproductofa formula thatallowed him to
startwithatargetloanam ount,andthen 6'back into''thepayrollfiguresontheform .Heexplained
how heusedfiguresthatwouldproducean averagem onthlypayrollfor2019that,when multiplied
by 2.5,would yield the requested loan am ount. In turn-the num berofemployeesreported w as
4 Som e loan applicationsalso included voided checksthatappearto lx falsitsed,such asa
purportedBank5checkthatappearstohave%enproducedonacomputerand,asthesubjectline
reads,':converted to PDF&''ratherthana scan ofanauthenticcheck.
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chosen based on fictionalpayrollfigures,chosen to avoid an averageem ployeesalary thatmight
raisesuspicion.
13. CH S 2 hasalso explained thathe tried to use bank statem ents showing thatthe
com pany had a Iarge balance. Because so few com panieshad such a statem ent,and Iikely also
becauseitw aseasierthankeepingtrack oftheirtruestatem ents,CHS2repeatedly subm ittednear-
replicasofthesamefalsifiedbankstatements.lnparticular,CHS2appearstohaverecycledone
statem enteach from Bank l,Bank 6,and Bank 7. ln recycling a statem ent,CH S 2 generally
changed only the accountnum berand the accountholder's nam e and address,such thateach
versionofthestatementhad identicalfiguresand line item sthroughoutthestatem ent.
14. A review ofrecordsforbankaccountscontrolledby CH S2atBank 5confsrm CH S
2'sadmissionsthathereceivednumerouskickbacks,often ofapproximately25% oftheamount
ofthe loans,and thathe regularly w ired A ugustin a share ofthatkickback in the early stagesof
the scheme. CH S 2 explained thatthey were doing so many loansby the end ofM ay thathe
changed course,instead wiring largerlump sum s,collecting Augustin'ssharesofthekickbacks
form ultiple loansin onew ire.
lnvestigatorsare stillreceivingand analyzingrecords,butbased on a prelim inary
analysis,asofJuly24,2020,investigatorshad identifiedatotalof$2.367,765.82 intransfersto
CH S 2'saccotlntsfrom entitiesthateach obtained asizable PPP loan and thatwere identified in
thePPP filesseizedfrom CH S 2'sandanotherco-conspirator'sresidences,asdescribed below
orfrom individualsassociatedw iththose entities.
l6. n e PPP loansidentified above asimplicated in the fom going kickbackpaym ents
to CH S 2 representonly a fraction ofthe overallschem e. In executing search warrantsatthe
respective residencesofCHS 2 and CH S 3,federalagentsfound stacksofpaperprinted outand
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organized by entity,containing an (sintake form ,''fabricated Form s941,orboth foreach entity.
The intake formscontained fieldsforthe inform ation needed to fàbricatethedocum entsand t1ll
outotheraspectsofthe PPP application:identifying inform ation aboutthe ovvnerand com pany,
aswellasbank accountinform ationforreceivingtheloan.A sectionattheendmarked (IBELOW
ISOFFICE USE ON LY''includedblankfieldsfortheçtN um berofEmployees,''''M onthly Payroll
Expense,''andItSBA Loan Pre-ApprovalAm ount.'' Betw een CH S2'sand CHS 3'sresidences,
investigatorsseized paperfilesforPPP loan applicationsforapproxim ately 80differententities.
17. Data obtained from the SBA show ed additionalPPP loan applications from
additionalentitiesthattextm essage and emailrecords show had been referred to CHS 2 by
Defendantorotherindividuals.
TheFraudulentPPP LoantoDefendant'sfblaplap:Liquid
18. AccordingtoFlorida'sDivision ofCorporationswebsite (';Sunbiz''),Liquid was
incorporated in 2015 by BOSTIC,w ho islisted asthecom pany'spresidentand registered agent.
Theaddresslistedon SunbizforLiquid isaresidentialaddressin Pem brokePineswhereBOSTIC
appearstoreside.s
According to bank records,BO STIC opened a businesschecking accountin the
nam eofLiquid inDecember2019.Ihavereviewedthestatem entsfrom thataccount,which reveal
little inthewayofbusinessactivityandnothingindicatingrecurringpayrollpayments.6
20. OnoraboutM ay l9,2020,aPPP loanapplicationpackageon behalfofLiquidwas
electronically subm itted to Bank 3 through Bank Processor l.The loan application package
5 As further described hex in,on July 17,2020,investigators m etw ith and interviewed
BO STIC atthislocation.
6 OnJune5and8,2020,therearecardpurchases(forthefirsttime),forQuickbooksOnline
and lntuitPayroll,respectively. However,thisisw eeksafterBO STIC applied forand received
thePPP loan proceeds.
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included,amongotherdocuments:(l)purportedForms941forallfourquartersof2019;(2)a
companybankstatementfbrLiquid;(3)anapplicationfbrm;and(4)apromissorynote.
The purported Form s 94l included in the application show quarterly payrollof
morethan$100,000eachquarter,fbr10employees.n atquarterlypayrollfigureyieldedthePPP
loanapplication'sitAverageMonthly Payroll''figureof$33,806,whichdeterminedthe$84,515
am ountofthe loan. Each wassigned by hand w ith thenam e ''Keyaira Bostic''asthe company
owner,andalso listed BOSTIC asthe company'sdesigneeandasaçipaid Preparer,''though she is
notapaidtaxpreparer.n eI-iquidForm s941follow thesam estyleandpatternasthemanyother
Form s94lthatCHS2 falsified inthecourseoftheschem e,including intheindiciaoffraud.7 IRS
recordsshow thatLiquid did not,in fact,tile any Forms94lforany quarterof20l9 orthefirst
quarterof2020,andFloridaDepartmentofRevenuerecordsshow thatLiquiddidnotreportany
wagesoremployeesforthatsam cperiod.
22. Thepurported company bank statem ent,w hich wassubm itted in electronic,PDF
form at,isaclearforgery. First,the statementisnotfrom Liquid'sbank. Second,nearly every
pageofthestatementliststhewrongcompanyname($$1AM LiquidLLC'').Third,accordingto
7 Asnoted above,BOSTIC waslisted asboth ownerand paidpreparer. Dozensofother
Forms941subm itted in thisscheme evidencethe sametrror. CHS2 hasadmitted thatthese
documentssharethatfeatureh causehemisunderstoodtheform,andhe(orsomeonefollowing
hisinstructions)preparedalloftheForms94latissue.Thecontentoftheformsalsoindicate
falsification. Al1four quarterly form s are nearly identical,and the fourform s forLiquid are
identical,downtothepenny,inreportedfigures.Theyalsoevidenceapatternofpayrollspending
thatislikely false:each ofthequartersshow ssignificantincreasesfrom thefirsttosecondtothird
m onth ofthequarter. Foreach identicalfonm,the sam ef-iguresarereported fbrthetax liability
incurred in the firstm onth ofeach qualter,the same flgure forthe second m onth ofeach quarter
(increased substantially from the firstmonth),andthe same figureforthethird month ofeach
quarter(increasedsubstantiallyfrom thesecondmonth).Theresultisthatthecompanyreportsa
perfectly repeating cycleofascending payrollcostsw ithin each quarter,droppingdown again at
thestartofthenextquarter.CHS2hasexplainedthatthiswasduetoaform ulaheused,allocating
differentpercentagesofthequarterly payrolltax liability to each month ofeach quarter.
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thedocum ent'sfileûiproperties,''thestatem entw ascreated using 'SPDFFILLER ''aprop am used
to editelectronic PDF Gles,and was-dmodified usingi'Ikxt.'' Fourth,the statem entisa recycled
version ofthesame falsified Bank 7 sàtem entused in otherfraudulentapplicationssubm itted as
partofthisschem e.
23. n eapplicationform,labeled atthetopibpaymentProtection Program Borrower
Application Form v'* listed BO STIC as the owner of Liquid, claim ed the company had 10
employees,andstatedthattheaveragemonthlypayrollwas$33,806. Basedon thisfigtlre,the
amountofthePPP loan requestwas$84,515. The application form required the borrowerto
electronicallyinitialanumberofSscertifications,''including:(1)thattheapplicantwasinoperation
onFebruary 15,2020andhadem ployeestow hom itpaidsdlaries/payrolltaxesorpaidindependent
contractors,asreportedonlRSForms1099;(2)thatthefundswouldbeusedtoretainworkers,
m aintain payroll,orm ake m odgage/interest/lease/utility paymentsasspecified by the PPP rule
andthatunatlthorizedusecouldresultinchargesforfraud;and(3)thattheinformationprovided
in the application, including in supporting docum ents,was ittrue and accurate in allm aterial
respects,''and thatmaking false statem entscouldresultin criminalcharges.The applicationw as
electronically signed w ith the name i'Keyaira Bosticj''and each certification w aselectronically
initialed t:K.B.''
24. n e prom issory note,labeled atthetopûipaycheck Protection Program Loan,''set
forththeamountoftheloan($84,515)anditsterms(includingthattheproceedscouldonlybe
used forbusinesspurposes). Thetermsalso specifiedthatthe borrowermay apply forloan
forgivenessonly inanam ountequaltothesum ofcertainspecifiedcosts:payrollcosts,intereston
m ortgageobligations,rentobligations,andutilitypaym ents.Theprom issorynotefurtherspecif-
ied
thatnotm ore than 25% ofthe am ountofforgivenesscan be attributable to non-payrollcosts.
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Additionally,the prom issory note contained a 'dRepresentationsand W armnties''section forthe
borrowerto acknowledge,am ong otherthingsthat-sthe inform ation provided in allsupporting
docum entsand forms to obtain this loan''were true and accurate. The prom issory note was
electronically signedw ith the nam e'iKeyaira Bostic.''
Based on the representations lnade in the loan application paperwork and
supportingdoctlments,thePPP loan application forLiquidw asapproved,and on M ay 20,2020,
Bank3wired$84,515in loanproceedsintotheLiquidbankaccount.
CHS2ConfirmedtoLaw EnforcementthattheLiquidPPP Loan rIWJFraudulentandthat
BOSTIC ReferredOtherstotheSchente
26. lnvestigatorsspokew ithCH S2 abouttheLiquidPPP loan.CHS2 confirm ed that
theloanapplicationwasfraudulent. CHS 2 statedthathe: (1)created forBOSTIC an online
accountforLiquid with Bank Processorl;(2)created and submittedthe fake Liquid bank
statement;and(3)created,submitted,andsigned(onbehalfofBOSTIC),thefalseForms941.
A ccordingto CH S 2,however,hedid notsigntheapplicationform orprom issory note.
27. IP session recordsfrom Bank Processor land aconsensualsearch ofBO STIC'S
phone corrobom te CH S2'saccountregarding which actionshe did anddid nottake with respect
to BOSTIC'Sloan.BankProcessor1'sIP recordsforthesubm ission oftheLiquid loan application
show thatacomputerwith an IP address(ending in 170)associated with CHS2'sresidence in
Broward County,Florida,logged into theLiquid loanaccounton M ay 18,2020.A llotherlogins
fortheaccount,however,includingthoseon M ay 19,2020 (thedatetheapplication form and
promissory note weresigrledand subm itted)camefrom adifferentIP address(endingin 120).
Onesuch login occurred on a date thatCH S 2 isknow n to have been incarcerated. Every login
from theIP addressendingin l20alsocoincidedw ithdatesandtim eswhenBO STIC'Sweb search
history,as recovered through a consensualsearch ofheriphone,show sthatshe was on Bank
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Processor1'swebsite.Forinstance,theP logfrom BankProcessorlshow stheIP addressending
in 120 accessed the website on M ay 19,2020,at6:04 PM LJTC,while BO STIC'Sw eb search
history show sthatshe accessed Bank Processor1'swebsite on M ay 19,2020,at6:04 PM U I'
C.
n e sam eistrueforIogin activity regardingtheIP addressending in 120 on M ay 24,June29,and
July 20,2020.
28. CH S 2 also stated that,in addition to the Liquid loan,B O STIC referred to him a
num beroffriends/associatesforthepurpose ofcreating and subm ittingadditionalfraudulentPPP
loans. CH S 2 stated thathe and BO STIC reached an agreementwhereby he wotlld give hera
portion ofthe 25% kickback paym entsforeach ofBOSTIC'S successfulreferrals. A sfurther
describedbelow,CHS2 confirmedthathemadetwopaymentstoBOSTIC for$20,000each,on
June 10 and June 15,ashershare ofthe kickbacksreceived from one ofBOSTIC'S successful
referrals.
EmailsandTextAJ*.
çlwfel'Contlrm BOSTIC'SKnowlnz'tzr/gipl//z?a inz/leFraud
29. As partofits investigation,law enforcementobtained cornm unicationsbetw een
CH S 2 and BO STIC,including textm essagesand emails. lhave review ed a num berofthese
comm unications,which discuss,am ong otherthings,BO STIC'S PPP Ioan and the loansforthe
individualsshereferredtoCH S2.
30. Forexample,onM ay 19,2020,thedateofherown PPP loansubm ission,BO STIC
stated in atextm essagetoCH S2:$ilsigned everythinp''
On M ay 20,2020,BO STIC texted CHS 2:itDo you acceptreferm ls?'' Thatsam e
day,CH S 2 em ailed BO STIC a blank intake inform ation form to befilled outw iththepersonal
and businessinformation forBO STIC'Sreferrals. On M ay 22,2020.BOSTIC texted CHS 2:f1l
senttheemailsfor2 clients,pleasegiveme acallwhen you geta chance.''
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Asan exam ple ofone ofherm ferrals,on M ay 23,2020,BO STIC emailed CHS 2
a completed intake infbrm ation fonn fbrPerson 20 and Com pany 22. The information on the
intake fonm included,among otherthings:(1)Person 20'sname,address,dateofbirth,social
securitynumber,andemailaddress;(2)thenameofCompany22itsbusinessaddress,TaxID,and
businessstartdate:and(3)abankaccountandroutingnumber.
Thatsameday,BOSTIC textedanothermrson(whoshehadalsoreferredtoCHS
2andwhohadappliedthatdayforaPPPloan)aninternetlinktoanarticleandtelevisionnews
reportregarding fraud charges againstan Atlanta-based reality television starfor fraudulently
obtainingaPPP loan.BOSTIC thenstated:iiThisisbuddywhathedid andtheam ountwasahuge
redtlag.''
34. Lessthan ten m inutes later,BO STIC texted CH S 2 and stated:iiKeep him tlnder
300 please.'' Based onthecontextoftheconversation,itappearsto methatBO STIC wastalking
aboutPerson 20and the loan am ountforhisentity,Com pany 22.
35. Asanotherexam ple ofBOSTIC referring othersto the schem e,on M ay29,2020,
BO STIC sentem ailsto CH S 2w iththe sam ekind ofpersonaland businessinformationregarding
anotherretkrral,Person 21and Com pany 23. BO STIC also sentCHS 2 copiesofPerson 21's
driverlicense and a voided check from hisbank account. n atsame day,regarding thissame
referral,BOSTICtextedCHS2:dllperson211notover325kplease.''
36. 0n M ay 3l,2020,CH S 2 and BO STIC had a sim ilartextexchange butabouta
differentreferral.CHS2asked:'tKaywhatdoyouwantmetoput(Person22jinfor300-400?''
BO STIC responded:ltYesthatgood.''CH S2 stated:1i375.'' BOSTIC responded:1çY es.''
37. Duringmyreview ofBO STIC'Scom m unicationsw ith CH S2,lfoundwhatappears
to beinform ation pel-taining to atleasteightdifferentindividuals/companiesthatshe referred to
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Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 14 of 16
thescheme.Furtherinformation,includingreview ofdatacollected by the SBA and bankrecords,
todatehasidentifiedPPPloanstotalingmorethan$2.5millioncorrespondingtothesenamesand
entities.
lalso found textmessage com m unicationsdiscussing the 25% kickback paym ent
thatthepeopleBOSTIC referredwouldhavetomake.Forexamplc,onM ay29,2020,BOSTIC
textedCHS2:'slperson23)gothis.''CHS2thentextedwiringinstructionsforhisbankaccount.
BO STIC askedCH S2 to lssend am ountasw ell.'' CHS2respcmded;:
çl'leRecieved(sicl408,232
H eneedsto send us102,158.''BOSTIC stated,'$Ok.''
BankRecordsContirm BOSTIC'SKnowinzParticipationintheFraud
IhavealsoreviewedLiquid'sand CH S25sbankrecords,w hichconfirm BO STIC'S
receiptofthePPP loan proceedsaswellasher25% paym entto CHS2. Specifically,onM ay20,
2020,Bank 3 wired $84,515 (the amountofthe loan)into the Liquid account.The nextday,
BOSTIC wired$21,130(approximately25% oftheloanamount)intooneofCHS2'saccounts.
40. Thebankrecordsalsoretlectpaym entsto CHS 2 from B O STIC'Sreferralsaswell
aspaym entsby CH S 2toBO STIC.
OnJune5and9,2020,CHS2receivedwiretranstkrsintheamountof$47,000and
$40,000,respectively,from a company tohisbank account. On June 10,2020,CHS 2 wired
$20,000toBOSTIC from thatsameaccount.OnJune 15,2020,CHS2 thenwiredBOSTIC an
additional$20,000 from hisaccount.CHS2hasstatedthatthosetwo incom ingpaymentsfrom
thecom pany representedthekickbacksowedtohim from thatcompany,andthatthetwooutgoing
paym entstoBOSTIC'SLiquid accotmtrepresented hershareofthosekickbackpaym ents.
42. M eanwhile,on June 4,2020,CHS 2 received a $73,000 wire transfer from
Com pany 24,w hich BO STIC hadreferredtothe schem e.CH S2 hasstated thathedid notpay a
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Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 15 of 16
portionofthiskickbackpaymenttoBOSTIC.lnstead,CHS2explainedthatheandBOSTIC had
diftk ulty collecting the fullam ountofthe kickback ow ed from anotherofBOSTIC'Sreferrals,
Person23.HesaidthathethemforeagreedwithBOSTIC thathe(CHS2)wouldkeepthefull
amountofthe$73,000kickbackpaymentfrom Company24,andthatBOSTIC couldthenkeep
whateveramountshewasabletocollectfrom Person23.
43. OnJune25,2020,CHS2receivedapaymentof$28,800from anothercompany.
Thatsam e day,atll:45 AM ,BO STIC sentCH S 2 a textin which shew rote;Alshe sent28,800
I'm meetingheronSaturdaytopickupcash.(sic)can'tmeethertodaybecausel'm workingon
aprojectinOrlando''.CHS2hasstatedthatpaymentof$28,800representedaninitialkickback
paymentforthe fraudulentloan forthatcompany,and thathe would have paid a share ofthat
am ounttoBOSTIC butforthefactthathew asarrested on theday hereceived thatpaym ent.
BOSTIC'SStatenwnttoLaw Enforcement
On July 17,2020,investigators interviewed BO STIC regarding the Liquid PPP
loan.BO STIC adm itted to receiving the loan proceedsand to paying 25% ofthoseproceedsto
CHS 2.ButBO STIC stated thatshewasunaw arethatherloanapplicationclaimed 10 employees
untilat-
teritw as subm itted and the fundswere disbursed.z BO STIC furtherstated thatCH S 2
preparedalloftheloandocum entsand thattheonlydocumentshesignedwastheprom issorynote.
AccordingtoBOSTIC,CHS2hadtoldhertojustscrolltothebottom andsign.BOSTICclaimed
shedidnotknow herloan wasa PPP loanuntilherfriendstold herlater.
8BO STIC stated thatshe had only fourem ployees,though even thisclaim isnotsupported by
bank orstaterecords.
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Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 16 of 16
W hen asked aboutretkrralsduring the sam e interview'
. Bostic claimed thatshe
referred only onepersonto CIIS2. BOSTIC said nothing abouttheotherx ferralsmentionedin
hercommunicationswithCHS2ortht$4
'0,000inkickbacksshercceived.
CO NCLUSIO N
46. Basedonthe fbrgoing,lrespectfullysubm itthatthere isprobablecauw tobclitve
thatKEYA IRA BOSTIC comm itted thelkrgetOftknses.
/.
FURTIIER YOUR AFFIANT SAYE'
l-l1NA UGH-I'.
M ICHAEL BEN IVEGNA
SpecialAgent
IRV CI
Atttstedto bytlw appliçantinaccordance
withtherequirementsof 'ed.R.Crim.P. 4.1
bytel
ephoneonthisJ DayofAugust,2020
l1ON.PATRICK M .IIUN T
UN ITED STATES M AGISTRATE JUIIGE
Page15of15
Case 0:20-mj-06317-PMH Document 1-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 1 of 1
UNITED STATES D ISTRICT CO UR T
SO UTH ER N DISTRICT O F FL OR IDA
CASENO.Xf-6</V -> -
IN RE:SEA LED CO M PLM N T
/
CRIM INA L C O VER SH EET
l. Did thism atteroriginate from a m atterpending in the CentralRegion ofthe United States
Attorney'sOfficepriortoAugust9,2013(M ag.JudgeAliciaValle)? - Yes X.No
2. Did thism atteroriginate from a matterpending in theN orthern Region ofthe United States
Attorney'sOfficepriortoAugust8,2014(Mag.JudgeShaniekMaynard)? Yes X No
3. D id thism atteroriginate from a m atterpending in the CentralRegion ofthe United States
Attorney'sOfficepriortoOctober3,2019(Mag.JudgeJaredStratlss)? Yes Z No
.
Respectfully Subm itted,
ARIAN A FAJARDO ORSH AN ROBERT ZIN K
UN ITED STATESA TTORNEY CHIEF,FRA UD SECTION
e *
By: By-
.
Z'
6X'
...
M ?
A V ID TU RK EN PH ILIP B.TROU T
A ssistantUnited StatesAttorney TrialAttorney,Fraud Section
FloridaBarNo.28573 U.S.DepartmentofJustice
99N E 4111Street l400N ew Y ork AveN W
M iam i,FL 33132 W ashington,D C 20530
Fax:(305)530-6168 Fax:(202)
Tel.(305)961-9430 Tel:(202)616-6989
Email:david.turken@usdoj.gov Email:philip.trout@ usdoj.gov
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