Criminal Complaint — United States v. Andre Clark (S.D. Fla., Dkt. 1)
Summary
This is a criminal complaint against Andre Clark, with the affidavit of Michael Benivegna, an IRS-CI special agent. The complaint lists wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud. The affidavit states that Clark obtained a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $488,565 for his company, Top Choice LLC, and that CHS 2, a cooperating person, provided falsified documents. It states that Clark referred other applicants and that the conspirators planned or prepared at least 90 fraudulent applications, together worth more than $24 million, with approximately $17.4 million in loans funded. Kickbacks were often approximately 25% of loan proceeds. A cover sheet headed IN RE: SEALED COMPLAINT follows.
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
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“Criminal Complaint — United States v. Andre Clark (S.D. Fla., Dkt. 1).”
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Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 1 of 15
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UNITED STATESD ISTRIC'I'COURT
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SouthernDistrictot-Florida
United StatesofAmerica
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AndreClark, c-ex-w
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CRIM INAL COM PLAINT
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18U.S.C.âj1343and2 WireFraud
18U.S.C.âj1344and2 BankFraud
18U.S.C.â1349 Conspiracy/AttempttnCommitW ireandBankFraud
Thiscriminalcomplaintisbasedonthesefacts:
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Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 2 of 15
AFFIDAW T
1,M ichaelBenivegna,beingfirstduly sworn,hereby deposeand stateasfollow s:
INTR O DU CH O N AND A G ENT B ACK G R OU ND
ImakethisA ffidavitin supportofacrim inalcom plaintchargingAN D RE CLA RK
('iCLARK''ordûDefendant''),withwirefraud,bankfraud,attemptandconspiracytocolnmitwire
fraudandbankfraud,inviolationof18U.S.C.jj1343,1344,1349,and2,from onoraboutMay
l9,2020,toatleaston oraboutJune24 2020,in the Southern D istrictofFlorida,and elsewhere
(thettTargetOffenses'').
Defendanthasparticipated in a schem eto obtain by fraud m illions ofdollars in
forgivable loansthrough the Paycheck Protection Program (:tPPP'')and othergovernment
programs,conspiringwithapersonnow cooperatingwiththeinvestigationCSCHS2'')andothers.
DefendantobtainedafraudulentPPP loanforhisowncompany,TopChoiceLLC (it-fbpChoice''),
w ith CHS 2 providingfalsified docum entsand subm ittingthe application on Defendant'sbehalf.
Defendantalso conspired to subm ita ntlm berofadditionalfraudtllentPPP loan applicationsfor
othercom paniesbyrecruitingotherconfederateloanapplicants,inorderto receivekickbacksfrom
those confederates. To intlatethe size ofthese PPP loans,and the corresponding kickbacks,the
conspirators relied on a variety of false statements,including by subm itting falsified bank
statementsandpayrolltax form s. Forexample,theconspiratorsusednearly identicalversionsof
thesam efabricated bank statem ents,recycledinthePPP applicationsform ultiplecompanieswith
m inorchanges.
The conspirators in the scheme planned or prepared at least 90 fraudulent
applications,mostofwhich w ere subm itted. Based on theevidence investigatorshave review ed
todate,CHS2,Defendant,andtheirco-conspiratorsappliedforPPP loansthataretogetherworth
Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 3 of 15
morethan$24milliondollars,withatleastapproximately42ofthoseloansapprovedandfunded
foratotalofapproximately$17.4million.Certainofthoseloanrecipientsthenwiredakickback
ofvarying amounts,often approximately 25% ofthe f'
raudulentIoan proceeds,to an account
controlledby CH S 2.
Iam aSpecialAgentwith theUnited StatesDepartmentOfTheTreasury,Internal
RevenueService,CriminallnvestigationC(1RVCl'')andhavebeenemployedinthiscapacitysince
October2016.lam presently assigw d to the M iam iField Oftk e. M y dutiesasaSpecialA gent
includetheinvestigationofpossiblecrim inalviolationsofthelnternalRevenueCode(Title26of
theUnitedStatesCode),theBankSecrecyAct(Title31oftheUnitedStatesCode),andtheMoney
Laundering Statutes (Title l8 ofthe United StatesCode).Igraduated from the Criminal
InvestigatorTrainingProgram attheFederalLaw EnforcementTrainingCenterin April20l7and
the Special A gent lnvestigative Techniques program at the NationalCrim inalInvestigation
TrainingA cadem y in July 20l7. ln these two program s,Istudied avariety of1aw enforcem ent
tacticsand crim inalinvestigatortechniquesrelating to tax and financialcrimes.Since becom ing
an IRS-CISpecialA gent,1have personally investigated and assisted in investigationsrelating to
the lntenmlRevenueLaw sandGnancialcrim es.Recently,Ihave beenassignedto work with the
U.S.DepartmentofJusticeandotherlaw enforcementpartners,includingtheFederalBureauof
lnvestigation and the Sm allBusiness Adm inistration Office oflnspectorGenel-
al,to investigate
possible fraud associated with the stimultlsand economic assistance programscreated by the
federalgovernmentinresponsetotheCOVlD-19program.
5. The factsin thisA ftsdavitcom e from my personalobservations,my training and
experience,andinformationobtainedfrom otherm em bersoflaw enforcem entandfrom witnesses.
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ThisA ffidavitisintended to show m erely thatthere issufficientprobable cause and doesnotset
fortha11ofmy know ledge aboutthismatter.l
PRO BABLE CAU SE
ThePqvcheck Protection Proqram
TheCoronavirusAid,Relief,andEconomicSecurity('SCARES'')Actisafedeml
law enacted in oraroundM arch 2020 and designed to provideemergency fmancialassistance to
the m illions ofA mericans who are suffering the econom ic effects caused by the COVlD-19
pandemic.OnesourceofreliefprovidedbytheCARESActwastheauthorizmtionOfupto$349
billioninforgivableloanstosmallbusinessesforjobretentionandcertainotherexpenses,through
aprovam referredtoasthePPP.InoraroundApril2020,Congressauthorizedover$300billion
inadditionalPPP funding.
ln order to obtain a PPP loan,a qualifying business m ust subm it a PPP loan
application,which is signed by an authorized representative ofthe btlsiness. The PPP loan
application requiresthe business(through itsauthorized representative)to acknowledge the
prop am rulesand makecertain afflrm ative certitk ationsin orderto beeligible to obtainthePPP
loan.InthePPP loanapplication,thesmallbusiness(throughitsauthorizedrepresentative)must
state,amongotherthings,its:(a)averagemonthlypayrollexpenses;and(b)numberofemployees.
These figtlresareused to calculatetheam ountofmoney the sm allbusinessiseligible to receive
underthe PPP. ln addition,businesses applying fora PPP loan mustprovide docum entation
show ingtheirpayrollexpenses.
1 The conductand chargesdescribed in thisA ffidavitare pal4 ofa largerinvestigation that
isbeing conducted in this D istrict and elsew here. A sa result,not a11num bered sources and
anonym ousindividualsand entitiesare described in everyfiling.Ihave included inthisA ftldavit
onlythose individualsandentitiesIhavedeemed necessarytoexplaintheparticularfactssetforth
here.
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A PPP loan applicationm ustbeprocessed byaparticipating lender.lfaPPP loan
application isapproved,the participating lenderfundsthePPP loan using itsown monies,which
are100% guaranteedbytheSmallBusinessAdministration(:kSBA'').Datafrom theapplication,
including inform ation abouttheborrower,thetotalam ountofthe loan,and the listed num berof
employees,istransm itted by the lendertotheSBA in thecourseofprocessingtheloan.
PPP loanproceedsm ustbeusedbythebusinesson certainperm issibleexpenses
payrollcosts,intereston m ortgages,rent,and tltilities. The PPP allowsthe interestandprincipal
on thePPP loantobeentirely forgiven ifthebusinessspendsthe Ioan proceedsontheseexpense
item sw ithinadesignatedperiod oftim eafterreceivingtheproceedsandusesacertainamountof
thePPP loanproceedsonpayrollexpenses.
TheScheme to Obtain FraudulentPPP Loans
10. OnoraboutMay 13,2020,PhillipJ.Augtlstin(dçAtlgustin'')andCHS2worked
togetherto submitafraudulentPPP loan application onbehalfofacompany ow nedby Augustin.
Augustin submitted aPPP loan of$84,515 to a federally insured bank (hereinafterttBank 3,5),
throughathird-partycompanyprocessor(hereinafteriiBank Processor15').2 Theapplication
includedbank statementsthatareclearforgeries,and CHS2 hasadm ittedthattheapplicationw as
basedon docum entsthathefalsified forA ugustin.3
2 Allbanks referenced in this A ffidavit are insured by the Federal Deposit lnsurance
Corporation.
3 On June 25,2020,investigatorsarrested CH S2 and anotherperson now cooperating with
theinvestigation(EiCHS39')andexecutedsearchwarrantsattheirresidences.Followinghisarrest,
CH S 2chose to cooperatewith the investigation inthe hopeofobtaining favorableconsideration
inconnectionw ith hispendingcharges. CH S2 wasinterviewed onthatday,andhascontinued to
cooperate w ith the investigation afterobtainingcounsel. M ostofhis statem entsrelated herein
have been 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
million. Based on the evidence investigatorshave reviewed so far,CHS 2 and Augustin
collectivelycoordinatedapplicationsforPPP loansthataretogetherworthmorethan$24million
dollars.TheevidencealsoshowsmanymorePPPloanswereattemptedbutrejectedbybanksor
theirpartners,orw ere planned and prepared,but notstlbm itted before CHS 2's arrest. The
evidence suggeststhatallor nearly aIIofthose Ioan applications w ere fraudulent,including
Defendant'sloan application and the applicationsDefendantorchestrated by referringadditional
confederatesto theconspiracy.
Investigatorshave obtained m any otlaer PPP loan applications thatCH S 2 has
adm ittedhesubm ittedaspartofthisschem e,basedonfalsifieddocum ents,andhavealsoobtained
draftdocumentsusedorintendedtobeusedinthoseapplicationsorothers.Theseapplicationsall
follow the same pattern of fraud- many with obviously counterfeit February 2020 bank
statements,andallwithfabricated1RSForms941(titled,isEmployer'sQuarterlyFederalTax
Return'')withthesameindiciaoffraudfoundinAugustin'sinitialapplication butgenerallywith
even largerinflated payrollnumbers,thusyielding m uch Iarger1oans.4 CH S 2 hasexplained to
investigatorsthatthefiguresin the Form s941w eretheproductofa formulathatallowed him to
startwith atargetloanamount,andthenStbackinto''thepayrollfiguresontheform .Heexplained
how heusedfiguresthatwouldproduceanaveragem onthlypayrollfor2019that,when m ultiplied
by 2.5,would yield the requested loan am ount. In turn,the numberofem ployeesreported w as
4 Som e loan applicationsalso included voided checksthatappearto t)e falsified,such asa
purportedBank5checkthatappearstohavelxenproducedonacomputerand,asthesubjectline
reads,itconvertedtoPDF,''ratherthan ascan ofanauthenticcheck.
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chosen based on fk tionalpayrollfigures,chosen to avoid an averageemployee salary thatm ight
raisesuspicion.
13. CH S 2 hasalso explained thathe tried to use bank statements show ing thatthe
com pany hada large balance. Becauseso few companieshad such a statement,and likely also
becauseitw aseasierthankeepingtrack oftheirtruestatements,CHS2repeatedlysubm ittednear-
replicasofthe sam efalsified bank statem ents.ln particular,CH S2 appearstohaverecycledone
statem enteach from Bank 1,Bank 6,and Bank 7. In recycling a statement,CHS 2 generally
changed only the accountnum berand the accotmtholder's nanle and address,such thateach
version ofthestatem enthad identicalfiguresand lineitemsthroughoutthe statem ent.
A review ofrecordsforbankaccountscontrolledbyCH S2atBank 5confirm CH S
2'sadm issionsthathereceived num erouskickbacks,often ofapproxim ately 25% ofthe am ount
oftheloans,and thathe regularly w ired Augustin ashare ofthatkickback in theearly stagesof
the schem e. CH S 2 explained thatthey were doing so m any loansby the end ofM ay thathe
changed course,instead w iring largerlum p sum s,collecting Augustin's sharesofthe kickbacks
form ultiple loansin onew ire.
lnvestigatorsare stillreceiving and analyzing records,butbased on aprelim inary
analysis,asofJuly 24,2020,investigatorshad identifiedatotalof$2,367,765.82intransfersto
CH S2'saccountsfrom entitiesthateach obtained asizable PPP loan and thatwere identified in
thePPP filesseized from CH S 2'sandanotherco-conspirator'sresidences,asdescribed below
orfrom individualsassociated with thoseentities.
16. ThePPP loansidentified aboveasim plicated in the foregoingkickback paym ents
to CH S 2 representonly a fraction ofthe overallschem e. In executing search wanuntsatthe
respective residencesofCHS 2 and CH S 3,federalagentsfound stacksofpaperprinted outand
Page6 of14
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organized by entity,containing an tdintake form,''fabricated Form s941,orboth foreach entity.
n e intake form scontained fieldsforthe inform ation needed to fàbricatethe documentsand fill
outotheraspectsofthe PPP application:identifying information aboutthe ownerand com pany,
aswellasbank accotlntinform ation forreceivingthe loan.A sectionattheendm arkedEtBELOW
ISOFFICE U SE ONLY''includedblank fieldsfortheAtNumberofEm ployees,''t:M onthly Payroll
Expenses''and t:SBA Loan Pre-A pprovalAm ount.'' Betw een CH S 2'sand CH S 3'sresidences,
investigatorsseizedpaperfilesforPPP loan applicationsforapproxim ately 80 differententities.
Data obtained from the SBA showed additional PPP loan applications from
additionalentities thattext nw ssage and em ailrecords show had been referred to CHS 2 by
Defendantorotherindividuals.
TheFraudulentPPP LoantoDefendant'sCbzaplap.Top Choice
18. AccordingtoFlorida'sDivisionofCorporationswebsite(û1Sunbiz''),Top Choice
LLC($ûTopChoice'')wasincorporatedinoraroundJune20l8.CLARK islistedasthecompany's
presidentandregisteredagent.The addresslisted on SunbizforTop Choice,4839 SW Volunteer
Road Suite226,Davie,Florida,isthe sam eaddresslistedforCLARK with Florida'sDepartm ent
ofM otorVehicles. lnvestigatorsvisitedthisaddressand wereunableto find any businessnam ed
tç-l-op Choice''atthatlocation. Rather,thataddm ssappearsto be merely am ailbox located in a
ttUSPak-N-ship.''
19. According to Sunbiz,Top Choice was adm inistratively dissolved in or around
September2019 forfailureto fileanannualreport, ltwasthenreinstated on oraboutM arch 29,
2020,twodaysafterthepassageofthe CA RESAct.
20. According to bank records,on oraboutM ay 19,2020,CLARK visited a bank in
M iram ar,Florida,andopentd businesscheckingandsavingsaccountsinthenameofTopChoice.
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In openingtheaccounts,CLARK presented aN orth Carolinadriverlicenseand,to proveFlorida
residence,provided aFloridaPower& Lightpow erbillin the nam e of's-l'op Choice''and atthe
sam eaddresslisted forthecompanyon Sunbiz. 'rhepow erbillstatesthatthetçl-ate''isfbrSERS-I
ResidentialService.''
CLA RK indicated to the bank thatTop Choice had six em ployees and a gross
annualrevenueof$200,000.Howeverythebankrecordsfrom theseaccountsrevealatotalof$600
indeposits(andnowithdrawals)forthemonthofM ay2020.5
22. n e day after CI-ARK opened the Top Choice bank accotlnts, a PPP loan
applicationpackageonbehalfofTop Choicewaselectronically subm ittedto Bank 3throughBank
Processorl.Theloanapplicationpackageincluded,amongotherdocuments:(1)purportedForms
94lforallfourquartersof2019inthenameofTopChoice;(2)acompanybankstatementfor
TopChoice;(3)anapplicationform;and(4)apromissorynote.
The purported Form s 941 included in the application show quarterly payrollof
morethan$500,000eachquarter,for25employees.ThatquarterlypayrollfigureyieldedthePPP
Ioanapplication'silAverageM onthlyPayroll''figureof$195,426,whichdeterminedthe$488,565
am ountoftheloan.Eachw assignedbyhandw ith thename'iAndreClark''asthecompanyowner,
and also listed CLARK asthe com pany-sdesir ee and asa 'tpaid Preparer,''though he isnota
paidtaxpreparer.TheTop ChoiceForm s94lfollow thesamestyleand patternasthemanyother
Form s941thatCH S 2,described above,acknowledged thathe helped create and subm itin the
course ofthe schem e,including in the indicia offraud.6 lR S recordsshew thatTop Choice did
5 The only activity in June 2020 consisted ofthe depositofthe PPP loan proceeds. The
accountswere frozen on oraboutM ay 26,2020.
6 Asnoted above,CLA RK was listed as both ownerand paid preparer. Dozensofother
Form s 941 subm itted in thisscheme evidence the sam e error. CH S 2 hasadm itted thatthese
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not,in fact,file any Form s941forany quarterof2019 orthefirstquarterof2020,and Florida
Depal-tmentofRevenuerecordsshow thatTop Choicedid notreportany wagesoremployeesfor
thatsam eperiod.
Thepurported company bankstatement,w hichw assubm itted in electronicfonnat
isaclearforgery.First,thestatementpurportstobeforthemonthofFebruary2020,priortothe
datethataccountwasopened.Second,accordingtothedocum ent'sfileltprow rties,''thestatement
wascreated usingtCPD FFILLER,''aprogram used to editelectronicPDF tsles,andw asiim odified
using i'rext-''
25. The application form,labeled atthe top SlpaymentProtection Program Borrower
A pplication Form,''listed CLA RK asthe ownerofTop Choice,claimed the company had 25
employees,andstatedthattheaveragemonthlypayrollwas$195,426.Basedon thisfigure,the
amountofthePPP loanrequestwas$488.565. '
I'
heapplicationform requiredtheborrowerto
electronicallyinitialanumberoftscertificationsy''including;(1)thattheapplicantwasinoperation
on February 15,2020andhademployeestowhom itpaid salaries/payrolltaxesorpaidindependent
contractors,asreported on Fonmts) 1099;(2)thatthe fundswould be used to retainwworkers,
m aintain payroll,orm ake lmodgage/interest/lease/utility paymentsasspecified by the PPP rule
documentssharethatfeaturebecausehemisunderstoodtheform,andhe(orsomeonefollowing
hisinstructions)preparedalloftheForm s94latissue. Thecontentoftheformsalso indicate
falsification.A llfourquarterlyform sarenearly identical,andthefourform sforTop Choice are
identical,downtothepenny,inreported figures.They alsoevidenceapatternofpayrollspending
thatislikely false:each ofthequartersshowssignificantincreasesfrom thefirstto secondtothird
m onth ofthequarter. Foreach identicalform ,the same figuresare reported forthe tax Iiability
incurred inthefirstmonth ofeach quarter,the sam efigure forthesecond m onth ofeach quarter
(increasedsubstantiallyfrom thefirstmonth),andthesamefigureforthethirdmonthofthequarter
(increasedsubstantiallyfrom thesecondmonth).Theresultisthatthecompanyreportsam rfectly
repeatingcycleofascendingpayrollcostsw ithin eachquarter.CHS2 hasexplained thatthisw as
dueto aformula he used,allocating differentpercentagesofthe quarterly payrolltax liability to
each month ofeach quarter.
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andthatunauthorizedusecouldresultinchargesforfraud;and(3)thattheinformationprovided
in the application,including in supporting docum ents,w as ittrue and accurate in allmaterial
respectsr''and thatm akingfalse statem entscould resultin crim inalcharges.'
Fhe application was
electronically signed w ith the name kiAndre Clark,''and each certification was electronically
initialedI:AC.''
26. Theprom issory note,labeled atthetopûipaycheck Protection Program Loan,''set
forththeamountoftheloan($488,565)anditsterms(includingthattheproceedscouldonlybe
used forbusinesspurposes). The termsalso specified thatthe borrowermay apply forloan
forgivenessonly inanam ountequaltothesum ofcertainspecifiedcosts:payrollcosts,intereston
m ortgageobligations,rentobligations,andutilitypaym ents.Theprom issorynotefurtherspecified
thatnotm ore than 25% ofthe amountofforgiveness can be attributable to non-payrollcosts.
A dditionally,the prom issory note contained a itRepresenutionsand W arm nties''section forthe
borrow erto acknowledge,among otherthings that'ithe information provided in al1supporting
docum ents and form s to obtain this loan''were true and accurate. The prom issory note was
electronically signed with thenam e''A ndrew Clark.''
Based on the m presentations made in the loan application papenvork and
supporting docum ents,the PPP loan application forTop Choice was approved,and on orabout
June l,2020,Bank3wiredapproxilnately$488,565in loanproceedsintotheTopChoicebank
account.
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CHS 2ConfirmedtoLaw EnforcementthattheTopChoicePpp Loan WasFraudulentand
thatCLARK ReferredOtherstotheScheme
28. lnvestigatorsspokew ithCHS2aboutCLARK andtheTopChoicePPPloan.CHS
2 statedthathehad m etCLA RK through A ugustin. According to CH S 2,the threeofthem m et
onanumberofoccasions(sometimesatagasstation inBrowardCounty)anddiscussedCLARK'S
PPP loan,asw ellasCLA RK 'Srefel-rals,forwhichCLA RK would receive asm allcut.A sstated
above,CHS 2 and Augustin had already agreed to sharethe 25% kickback paym entsthatCH S2
would usually receive from referrals,includingfrom CLARK 'Sreferrals.
29. Asto the Top Choice PPP loan,CH S 2 confirm ed thatthe Ioan application was
fraudulentand stated thathe had assisted CLARK in preparing and subm itting it. Specifk ally,
CH S 2 stated thathediscussed the detailsofthe loan w ith CLARK,including the am ountofthe
loan and the num berofemployeesclaim ed on the application.CH S2 also explained to CLARK
thathe w ould need a bank accountand need to hire em ployeesin orderto m ake the loan look
legitim ate.
30- Additionally CHS2 statedthathe:(l)createdforCLARK anonlineaccountfor
TopChoicewithBankProcessor1;(2)cxatedandsubmittedthefakeTopChoicebankstatement;
and(3)created,submitted,andsigned(onbehalfofCLARK),thefalseForm s941.Accordingto
CH S2,he did notrecallsigningtheapplication form orprom issory note,buthewasuncertain on
thispoint.BankProcessor1'sIP recordsfortheTopChoiceloanapplication show thatacom puter
withanIPaddress(endinginl70)associatedwithCH S2'sresidenceinBrowardCounty,Florida,
logged into theTop Choiceloan accountasearly asM ay l9,2020.
CH S2 also statedthat,inadditiontotheTop Choice loan,CLARK referredtohim
a numberoffkiends/associatesforthe purpose ofcreating and subm itting additionalfraudulent
PPP loans. Asstated above,CHS 2 and A ugustin would sharethekickback paym entsforthese
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referrals. CH S 2 stated thathe did notknow how CLARK gotpaid forhisreferralsbutthat
Augustin toldhim thatCLARK wasgettingacut.
EmailsandTextM essazesConfirm CLARK 'SKnowinz 'Jrscfplst?a intheFraud
32. As partof its investigation,Iaw enforcem entobtained cornmunications between
CHS 2 and CLARK,incltldingtextmessagesand emails. Ihave reviewed anumberofthese
com munications,w hich discuss,among otherthings,CLARK 'SPPP loan and the loansforthe
individualsandcom panieshereferred to CHS2.
33. Forexample,on oraboutM ay 19,2020,CHS 2 sentCLARK atextmessage that
stated:itl-liAndrethisis(CHS2)lockinmynumberlam workingonyourt5lelneedsocial
security num berand date ofbirth.'' CLARK respondedw ith hisdate ofbirth and socialsecurity
num ber.Thatsam eday,CLA RK textedCH S2 hisem ailaddress,and CH S2 responded:tkcheck
youremailand activateyouraccountJustopen em ailandclickthelink.''
On oraboutM ay 20,2020,CLA RK forwarded CHS 2 an em ailhe had received
from BankProcessorlwiththesubject,ddYouhaveanofferforthePaycheckProtectionProgram.''
The em ailstated:ddAndre,the SBA has finished review ing your application and you've been
approved for your Paycheck Protection Program loan. A ccept your offer to access m ore
inform ation,includingthenextsteps.''TheemailincludedalinkbuttontoclickslabeledSiAccept.''
35. On oraboutM ay 20,2020,CLA RK separatelytexted CHS 2w ithinform ation that
appearstorelatetoadifferentfraudulentloanapplication.Inthetextm essage,CLA RK provided:
(1)asocialsecuritynumber;(2)dateofbirth;(3)emailaddress;(4)businessstartdate;and(5)
state ofincorpomtion. (CHS 2 explained thatCLARK was serving asa refkrralsource,or
middleman,between CHS2 and theapplicant,inexchangeforasmallfke). Aflergettingthe
informationfrom CLAR K,CH S 2 responded thatheneeded acheck from thebusiness. CLARK
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asked bytextm essage:*tshould he gotothebank in them orningand gettem porary checkswhile
heordersomel?l,''towhichCHS2respondedislylesweneedcheck.''
36. OnoraboutM ay 27,2020,CLARK sentatextm essageto CH S2w ith information
regardinganother,differentreferral.n isinform ationprovidedbyCLARK included,amongother
things'
.(l)theindividual'sname,address,dateofbirth,socialsecuritynumber,ande-mailaddress'
,
(2)theindividual'sbusinessname,businessaddress,EIN,andbusinessstartdate;and(3)bank
accountand routing num bers. On oraboutM ay 28,2020,regardingthis sam e referral,CH S 2
textedCI-ARK thatheneeded i$a february statem entfrom hercreditunion m ake sure ifshecant
downloadand send inpdfshetakesagoodpictureofitso ican modify it.''
O n oraboutM ay 30,2020,CLARK texted CHS 2:Etllow m any Igaveyou so far
thatisworkingbesidestheGrsttwoonesalreadycompleted(...1lwantatleast10morepeople
w ithin thenextfew days.''
38. During myreview ofCLA RK'Scom municationsw ithCH S2,1foundw hatappears
tobeinform ationpertainingtoatleast14differentindividualsandatleast15associatedcorporate
entities. Furtherinvestigation,including review ofdata collected by the SBA and bank records,
todatehasidentifiedPPP loanstotalingmorethan$3.5millioncon-espondingtothesenamesand
entities.
CLARK'sBankinzActivitvfba/-
lz.
- HisKnowinzParticipationintheFraud
39. 1 have also reviewed Top Choice'sand CH S 2's bank records,which confirm
CLARK 'SreceiptofthePPP loanproceeds.Specitk ally,onoraboutJune 1,2020,Bank 3wired
the loan amount,$488,565,into the Top Choice account. Asdiscussed above,however,Top
Choice'saccountsw ere frozen on oraboutM ay 26,2020,so CLARK could notaccessthe PPP
loanfunds.
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Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 15 of 15
According to an investigator atTop Choice-s bank. CI-ARK called the bank
numeroustimesandthen visitedthebank'sMiramarbranchlocationinordertogethisaccounts
unffozen.Duringaphoneconversationw ithCI-ARK . thebankinvestigatoraskedCIaA RK about
the FPL powerbillhe had subm itted w'hen opening hisaccount. which the investigatorbelieved
wasa forgery. CLA RK denied eversubmitting thc powerbill. W hcn the invcstigatorasked
CI-ARK abouthisPPP application,CLA RK stated he would need to speak to hisaccountant,
W henaskedforthenamcofhisaccountantv CLARK would notprovideaname.fêinally,when
theinvestigatortoldCLARK thathisPPPloanwassuspectedasfraudulent, CLARK sim plystated
*tthankyou''and hungup.
CO NCLtISIO N
41, Basedontheforgoing.Irespectfullysubmitthatthercisprobablecausetobelieve
thatANDRE C I-ARK comm ittedtheTargctOf'
fenscs.
FURTHER YO UR AFFIANT SA YE'I'H NA UGHT
M ICI'IAE1-BEN IVEGNA
SpeciaIAgent
IRS-CI
Attestedtobytheapplicantinaccordance
withthtrequirtmentsofMed.R.Crim.P.4.1
bytelephoneonthisX . Day ofAugust.2020
HO'kf.PATRICKM.HUNT '
UNITED STATES M AGISTRATE JtJIX iE
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Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1-1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 1 of 1
UN ITED STATES DISTRICT CO URT
SO UTH ER N DISTRICT OF FLO RIDA
CASENO.z p->.y/:
IN RE:SEALED CO M PLAINT
Cm M INAL COVER SHEET
1. D id thism atteroriginate from a m atterpending in the CentralRegion ofthe United States
Attorney'sOfficepriortoAugust9,2013(Mag.JudgeAliciaValle)? - Yes X .No
2. D id thism atteroriginate from am atterpending in theNorthern Region ofthe United States
Attorney'sOfficepriortoAugust8,2014(M ag.JudgeShaniekMaynard)? Yes X No
3. D id thism atteroriginate from a m atterpending in the CentralRegion ofthe United States
Attorney'sOfficepriortoOctober3,2019(M ag.JudgeJaredStrauss)? Yes X N o
-
Respectfully Subm itted,
ARIAN A FAJA RDO ORSHAN RO BERT ZIN K
UN ITED STATES A TTORN EY CHIEF,FRAU D SECTION
z''-
By: By: J* z
DA VID TURKEN PHILIP B.TROUT
A ssistantU nited StatesAttorney TrialAttorney,Fraud Section
Florida BarN o.28573 U .S.Departm entofJustice
99N E 4151Street 1400New YorkA veN W
M iam i,FL 33132 W ashington,DC 20530
Fax:(305)530-6168 Fax:(202)
Tel.(305)961-9430 Te1:(202)616-6989
Email:david.turken@ usdoj.gov Email:philip.trout@usdoj.gov
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