Court filing — No. 0:21-mj-06152 (Dkt. 1, S.D. Fla.)
Summary
Criminal Complaint in United States of America v. Yashica Sherea Bain, Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH, Document 1, entered on the docket March 16, 2021, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The complaint lists Wire Fraud, Bank Fraud, and Conspiracy/attempt to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, and refers to an attached affidavit. In the affidavit, Beatriz Feito, an IRS-CI Special Agent, alleges that Bain obtained a PPP loan for Microblading Brow Studio, LLC with documents falsified by CHS 2, in exchange for a kickback. The affidavit states that the conspirators applied for PPP loans together worth more than $34 million, and it concludes that there is probable cause.
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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“Court filing — No. 0:21-mj-06152 (Dkt. 1, S.D. Fla.).”
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Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 1 of 18
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fraud and bankfraud
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Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 2 of 18
A FFIDAV IT
1,Beatriz Feito,being firstduly sw orn,hereby depose and state asfollow s:
IN TRO DU CTIO N AN D AG ENT BAC KG RO U ND
I m ake this Affidavit in suppol'
t of a crim inal com plaint charging YASHICA
SHEREA BAIN ('IBAIN''or (ûllefendant''),with wirc fraud,bank fraud,and attempt and
conspiracytocommitwirefraudandbankfraud,inviolationofl8U.S.C.jj1343,l344,1349,
and 2,from on oraboutM ay 22,2020,to atIeaston oraboutA ugust l4,2020,in the Southern
DistrictofFlorida,and elsewhere(theçûl-argetOffenses'').
Defendanthasparticipated in a conspiracy and schem e to obtain by fraud m illions
of dollars in forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (%1PPP'') and other
governm entprogram s. Defendantcom m itted the TargetOffensesw ith a person now cooperating
with the investigation ('CCHS 25')and others. Defendantobtained a fraudulentPPP loan forher
own company, M icroblading Brow Studio, LLC (-'M BS''),with CHS 2 providing falsified
docum ents and subm itting the application on Defendant'sbehalfin exchange fora kickback from
the loan proceeds. To intlate the size ofthese PPP Ioans,and the corresponding kickbacks,the
conspirators relied on a variety of false statem ents, including by subm itting falsified bank
statem entsand payrolltax form s. Forexample,the conspirators used nearly identicalversionsof
the sam efabricated bank statem ents,recycled in the PPP applicationsform ultiple com panies,w ith
m inorchanges.
The conspirators in the schem e planned or prepared at Ieast 90 fraudulent
applications,m ostofw hich were subm itted. Based on the evidence investigators have review ed
to date,CHS 2,Defendant,and theirco-conspiratorsapplied forPPP Ioansthataretogetherworth
morethan $34 m illion,with atIeastapproximately 42 ofthose loansapproved and funded fora
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 3 of 18
totalofapproximately $I7.6 million. Certain ofthose Ioan recipientsthen wired a kickback of
varying am ounts, often approxim ately 25% of the fraudulent loan proceeds, to an account
controlled by CH S 2.
lam a SpecialAgentw ith the U nited States Departm entofthe Treasury,lnternal
RevenueService,CriminalInvestigation(-klRS-CI'')andhavebeenemployedinthiscapacitysince
January 2019. Iam presently assigned to the M iam iField Office. M y duties as a SpecialA gent
includetheinvestigationofpossiblecriminalviolationsoftheInternalRevenueCode(Title26of
theUnitedStatesCode),theBankSecrecyAct(Title31oftheUnitedStatesCode),andtheMoney
Laundering Statutes (Title l8 of the United States Code).l graduated from the Criminal
InvestigatorTraining Program atthe FederalLaw Enforcem entTraining Centerin M ay 2019 and
the Special Agent Investigative Techniques program at the National Crim inal Investigation
Training Academ y in August2019.ln these tw o program s,Istudied a variety oflaw enforcem ent
tactics and crim inalinvestigatortechniques relating to tax and financialcrim es. Since becom ing
an IRS-CISpecialA gent,Ihave personally investigated and assisted in investigationsrelating to
the InternalRevenue Lawsand financialcrim es. Recently,lhave been assigned to w ork w ith the
U .S.Departm entofJustice and otherlaw enforcem entpartners,including the FederalBureau of
Investigation and the Sm allBusiness Adm inistration Office of InspectorG eneral,to investigate
possible fraud associated w ith the stim ulus and econom ic assistance program s created by the
federalgovernm entin response to the COV ID-I9 pandem ic.
The facts in this A ffidavitcom e from m y personalobservations,m y training and
experience,and inform ation obtained from otherm em bersof1aw enforcem entand from w itnesses.
Page 2 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 4 of 18
This Affidavitis intended to show m erely thatthere is sufficientprobable cause and does notset
forth alIofm y know ledge aboutthism atter.l
PRO BABLE CAU SE
The Pavcheck Protection Prozram
6. TheCoronavirusAid,Relief,andEconomicSecurity(tECARES'')Actwasafederal
Iaw enacted in or around M arch 2020 and designed to provide em ergency fsnancialassistance to
the m illions of Am ericans who are suffering the econom ic effects caused by the COVID-l9
pandem ic. One source ofreliefprovided by the CA RES Actwasthe authorization offorgivable
loanstosmallbusinessesforjobretentionandcertainotherexpenses,throughaprogram referred
toasthePaycheckProtectionProgram (iiPPP'').
ln order to obtain a PPP Ioan, a qualifying business subm itted a PPP loan
application,w hich was signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan
application required the business (through its authorized representative) to acknowledge the
program rulesand m ake certain affirm ative certifications in orderto be eligible to obtain the PPP
Ioan.InthePPP Ioan application(SmalIBusinessAdministration(tiSBA'')Form 2483),thesmall
business(through itsauthorizedrepresentative)wasrequiredtoprovide,among otherthings,its:
(a)averagem onthly payrollexpenses;and (b)numberofemployees. Thesefigureswere used to
calculate the am ount of m oney the sm allbusiness was eligible to receive under the PPP. In
addition,businesses applying fora PPP loan were required to provide docum entation contsrm ing
theirpayrollexpenses.
1 The conductand charges described in this Affidavitare partofa largerinvestigation that
is being conducted in this District and elsew here. A s a result, not alInum bered sources and
anonym ousindividualsand entitiesare described in every tsling. Ihave included in this Affidavit
only those individualsand entitiesIhave deem ed necessary to explain theparticularfactssetforth
here.
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8. A PPP loan application was processed by a participating lender. If a PPP loan
application w as approved,the participating lender funded the PPP Ioan using its ow n m onies.
W hile itwas the participating lenderthatissued the PPP loan, the loan w as l00% guaranteed by
the SBA . Data from the application,including inform ation aboutthe borrow er, the totalam ount
ofthe loan,and thc listed num berofemployees,wastransm itted by the lenderto the SBA in the
course ofprocessing the Ioan.
PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by the businesson certain perm issible
expenses payrollcosts,intereston m ortgages,rent,and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest
and principalon the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven ifthe business spentthe loan proceeds on
these expense item sw ithin a designated period oftime and used a defined portion ofthe PPP Ioan
proceeds on payrollexpenses.
FinancialInstitutions
10. ThisAffidavitreferences Gnancialinstitutionsthatare headquartered in the United
Statesand insured by the FederalDepositInsurance Corporation,including Bank 1,Bank 3,Bank
5,Bank 6,and Bank 7.
The Schem e to O btain FraudulentPPP Loans
On oraboutM ay l3,2020,Phillip J.Augustin (ikAugustin'')and CHS 2 worked
togetherto subm ita fraudulentPPP loan application on behalfofa com pany owned by Augustin.
Augustin submitted a PPP loan of $84,515 to a federally insured bank (hereinafteriiBank 39'),
through a third-party company processor (hereinafter :kBank Processor l''). The application
Page 4 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 6 of 18
included bank statem entsthatareclearforgeries,and CHS 2 hasadm itted thatthe application was
based on docum entsthathe falsified forA ugustin.z
Follow ing the successofthatinitialfraudulentPPP application,A ugustin and CHS
2 began to w ork on obtaining m ore and Iarger PPP Ioans for Augustin's associates and others,
gencrallyforseveralhundredthousanddollarsforeach Ioan,uptoasmuchasapproximately$1.24
m illion. Based on the evidence investigators have reviewed so far, CH S 2 and Augustin
collectively coordinated applicationsforPPP loansthataretogetherworth morethan $34 million
dollars.TheevidencealsoshowsmanymorePPP Ioanswereattemptedbutrejectedbybanksor
their partners,or were planned and prepared,but not subm itted before CHS 2's arrest. The
evidence suggests that all or nearly aIl of those loan applications were fraudulent, including
Defendant's loan application.
lnvestigators have obtained m any other PPP Ioan applications that CHS 2 has
adm itted he subm itted aspartofthisscheme,based on falsified docum ents,and have also obtained
draftdocum entsused orintended to be used in thoseapplicationsorothers. These applicationsalI
follow the sam e pattern of fraud m any w ith obviously counterfeit February 2020 bank
statements,and alIwith fabricated IRS Forms941(titled,tûEmployer'sQuarterly FederalTax
Return'')withthesameindiciaoffraudfoundinAugustin'sinitialapplication butgenerallywith
On June 25,2020,investigators arrested CHS 2 and anotherperson now cooperating w ith
theinvestigation(ttCHS 3--)and executedsearchwarrantsattheirresidences.Followinghisarrest,
CH S 2 chose to cooperate with the investigation in the hope ofobtaining favorable consideration
in connection w ith hispending charges. CHS 2 w as interviewed on thatday,and hascontinued to
cooperate w ith the investigation afterobtaining counsel. M ost of his statem ents related herein
have been corroborated by records obtained from third parties or recovered from his electronic
devices.
Page 5 of 17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 7 of 18
even larger intlated payrollnum bers,thus yielding m uch largerIoans.3 CHS 2 has explained to
investigatorsthatthe fsgures in the Form s941 were the productofa formula thatallowed him to
startw ith atargetIoan am ount,and then ètback into''thepayrollsgureson the form .He explained
how he used Gguresthatwould produce an average m onthly payrollfor20l9 that, w hen m ultiplied
by 2.5,would yield the requested Ioan amount. In turn,thc num ber of em ployees reported was
chosen based on fictionalpayrollfigures,chosen to avoid an average em ployee salary thatm ight
raise suspicion.
CH S 2 has also explained that he tried to use bank statem ents show ing thatthe
com pany had a large balance. Because so few com panies had such a statem ent,and likely also
because itwaseasierthan keeping track oftheirtrue statem ents,CHS 2 repeatedly subm itled near-
replicas ofthe sam e falsified bank statements. ln particular,CH S 2 appearsto have recycled one
statem enteach from Bank l, Bank 6,and Bank 7. In recycling a statem ent,CHS 2 generally
changed only the account num ber and the account holder's nam e and address, such that each
version ofthe statem enthad identicaltsgures and line item sthroughoutthe statem ent.
A review of recordsforbank accountscontrolled by CHS 2 at Bank 5 confsrm ed
CHS 2's adm issions that he received num erous kickbacks,often of approxim ately 25% of the
am ountof the loans,and thathe regularly wired Augustin a share ofthat kickback in the early
stagesofthe schem e.CH S 2 explained thatthey were doing so m any loansby theend ofM ay that
he changed course,instead w iring largerIum p sum s,collecting Augustin'ssharesofthe kickbacks
form ultiple loansin one wire.
3 Some loan applications also included voided checksthatappearto be falsified, such asa
purported check from a bank (biBank 5'')thatappearsto havebeen produced on acomputerand,
asthesubjectIineofan emailtransmitling thevoided checkread,iiconvertedto PDFg,1''rather
than a scan ofan authentic check.
Page 6 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 8 of 18
16. Investigatorsare stillreceiving and analyzing records,butbased on a prelim inary
analysis,asofAugust3l,2020,investigatorshad identifiedatotalofapproximately$2,367,765.82
in transfersto CH S 2'saccountsfrom entitiesthateach obtained a sizable PPP Ioan and thatw ere
identified in the PPP files seized from CH S 2's and another co-conspirator's residences, as
describcd below--orfrom individuals associated w ith thosc entities.
The PPP loans identified above as im plicated in the foregoing kickback paym ents
to CHS 2 represent only a fraction of the overallschem e. ln executing search w arrants atthe
respective residences ofCHS 2 and CHS 3,federalagentsfound stacks ofpaperprinted outand
organized by entity,containing an bsintake form ,''fabricated Form s 94l,or both for each entity.
The intake form scontained Gelds forthe inform ation needed to fabricate the docum entsand t5ll
outotheraspects ofthe PPP application:identifying inform ation aboutthe ownerand company,
aswellasbank accountinform ation forreceiving the Ioan. A section atthe end m arked ''BELO W
IS OFFICE USE ONLY''included blank fieldsforthe tiNumberofEmployeesl,l''EçMonthly
PayrollExpenseg,l''and %'SBA Loan Pre-ApprovalAmount.'' Between CHS 2'sand CHS 3's
residences,investigatorsseized paperfilesforPPP Ioan applicationsforapproxim ately 80 different
entities.
Data obtained from the SBA show ed additional PPP Ioan applications from
additional entities that text m essage and em ail records show had been referred to CH S 2 by
mem bers ofthe conspiracy.
The FraudulentPPP Loan Disbursed to M BS
19. According to Florida's Division ofCorporations website ($1Sunbiz''),M BS was
established asa Florida lim ited Iiability com pany on oraboutFebruary 9,2017*
, BA IN islisted as
oneofthe com pany'stw o m anagersand asthe registered agent;and the principaladdressofM BS
is2501S.W .l01stA venue,Unit#106,M iramar,Florida 33025.
Page 7 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 9 of 18
On or aboutM ay 23,2020,a PPP loan application and supporting docum ents on
behalf of M BS w ere electronically subm itted, via interstate w ire, to Bank 3 through Bank
Processor l. The Ioan application packageincluded,among otherdocuments:(1)fourpurported
Forms94lforeach quarterof2019 inthenameofM BS;(2)apurported company bankstatement
forM BS from Bank6;and(3)aBorrowerApplicationForm foraPPP loanrcqucstof$4l5,232
forM BSbasedupon apurportedaveragemonthly payrollof$166,093for21employees(the'tPPP
ApplicationForm'').4
The purported Form s 941 subm itted w ith M BS'S PPP loan application package
show quarterly payrollofover$300,000 each quarter,and do notstatethe numberofemployees
w ho w ere paid w ages. Thatquarterly payrollGgure yielded the PPP loan application's étAverage
M onthly Payroll''tsgureof$166,093,which determ ined the $4l5,232 amountofthe loan. Each
Form 94 l w as signed by hand w ith the nam e elYashica Bain''as the com pany owner,and also
listed ûsYashica Bain''as the com pany'sdesignee and asa ispaid Preparer,''although BA IN isnot
a paid tax preparer.s
The purported Form s 94 1 subm itted w ith M BS'S PPP loan application package
follow the sam estyle and pattern,including the indicia offraud,asthe m any otherForm s94 lthat
CHS 2 acknowledged thathe helped create and subm itin the course ofthe schem e,as described
4 The PPP A pplication Form Iisted BA IN as the 100% ow ner of M BS,and also listed
BAIN 'Saddressaslocated in M iam i,Florida.
5 cHS 2 adm itted during interviews w ith law enforcementthatCHS 2 signed m any ofthe
Form s 941 included in the PPP applications. W hen CH S 2 w as show n the four Form s 94l for
M BS,CHS 2 adm itted thathe signed al1ofthem .
Page 8 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 10 of 18
above.6 M oreover, IRS recordsshow thatM BS did not,in fact,t5le any Form s941forany quarter
of2019 orthe firstquarterof2020,and Florida Departm entofRevenue records show thatM BS
did notreportany w agesorem ployees forthatsam e period.
23. The purported com pany bank statem ent for M BS subm itted w ith its PPP loan
application package,w hich w as subm itled in electronic form atas a PD F,has indicia offorgcry.
According to the PDF t5le kkproperties,'' the February 2020 statem ent was created using
:IPDFFILLER,''aprogram used to editelectronicPDF files,and wasStm odified using i'
lkxt.''The
m etadatashow sthatthe f5lew ascreated on M ay l4,2020,and m odified on M ay 23,2020.Further,
the statem entisa recycled version ofthe sam efalsified Bank 6 statementused in otherfraudulent
applicationssubm itted as pal4 ofthisschem e.
24. The PPP Application Form required the borrow er to electronically initialand/or
sign (via Docusign,as explained below)a numberof ttcertifications,''including'
.(1)thatthe
applicantbusiness w as in operation on February l5,2020,and had em ployees to whom itpaid
salaries/payrolltaxesorpaid independentcontractors,asreportedon Formts)l099;(2)thatthe
funds would be used to retain workers,m aintain payroll,orm ake m odgage/interesflease/utility
6 Asnoted above, BAIN was listed asboth ow nerand paid preparer. DozensofotherForm s
941 subm itted in this schem e evidence the sam e error. CH S 2 hasadm itted thatthese docum ents
share that feature because he misunderstood the form, and he (or someone following his
instructions)prepared theForms94latissue.Thecontentofthe formsalso indicatefalsification.
M BS subm itted fouridentical94ls,dow n to the penny in reported figures. They also evidence a
pattern ofpayrollspendingthatisIikely false:each ofthequartersshowssignificant(butidentical
quarteroverquarter)increasesfrom the fsrstto second to third month ofthe quarter. Foreach
identicalform ,the sam e figuresare reported forthe tax liability incurred in the firstm onth ofeach
quarter,the same figure forthe second month ofeach quarter(increased substantially from the
firstmonth),and the same fsgure forthethird month ofthe quarter(increased substantially from
thesecondmonth).Theresultisthatthecompanyregortsaperfectlyrepeatingcycleofascending
payrollcosts w ithin each quarter. CHS 2 has explalned thatthis wasdue to a form ula he used,
allocating differentpercentagesofthe qtlarterly payrolltax liability to each m onth ofeach quarter.
Page 9 of 17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 11 of 18
paym ents asspecified by the PPP rule and thatunauthorized use could resultin chargesforfraud'
,
and (3)thatthe information provided in theapplication,including in supporting documents,was
-itrue and accurate in aII m aterial respects,'' and that m aking false statem ents could result in
crim inalcharges. Each certification was electronically initialed E:YB,''the loan application was
electronicallysigned,andtheprintednameontheloanapplicationwasdsYashicaBainl.l''
Thepromissorynote,IabeledatthetopùûpaycheckProtectionProgram Loanl,l''set
forth theamountofthe loan ($415,232)and itsterms(including thatthe proceedscould only be
used forbusiness purposes). The terms also specifsed thatthe borrower may apply for loan
forgivenessonly in an am ountequalto thesum ofcertain specified costs:payrollcosts,intereston
m ortgageobligations,rentobligations,and utility paym ents.Theprom issory notefurtherspecified
that notm ore than 25% ofthe am ountof forgiveness could be attributable to non-payrollcosts.
A dditionally,the prom issory note contained a lûltepresentations and W arranties''section f0rthe
borrow er to acknowledge,am ong otherthings,that-çthe inform ation provided in allsupporting
docum ents and form s to obtain this loan''were true and accurate. The prom issory note was
electronicallysignedandtheprintednameonthepromissorynotewasisYashicaBaing.l''
26. Bank Processor 1's Internetprotocol(êûIP'') address records for the M BS loan
application show thata computerwith an IP address (ending in 170)associated with CHS 2's
residence in Broward County,Florida,logged into the M BS loan accounton or aboutM ay 23,
2020,M ay 26,2020,M ay 28,2020,June 2,2020,and on June 8,2020. The session recordsalso
revealthatacom puterwith IP address(ending in 99),an IP addressusedto accessBAIN 'Semail
account(kkbrowpalacegs4@ gmail.com''),Iogged intotheM BS loanaccounttoview andsignthe
PPP loan application on or about M ay 23,2020. Subsequently,on or about M ay 23,2020,a
computerwith IP address(ending in 205),associated with a businessin M iramar,Florida,which
Page 10 of 17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 12 of 18
wasIocated nextdoorto M BS,logged into the M BS loan accountto view the PPP Ioanapplication.
Iinterviewed theow nerofthisbusiness,and theow nerstated thathe/she know sBA IN ,thatBA IN
visits the business,and that BA IN could have obtained the passw ord to the business' internet
w irelessnetw ork som etim e in the lasttw o years.
27. Rccordsrcceived from Docusign indicated that,on oraboutM ay 23,2020,atl1:57
a.m .(UTC),Bank Processor l sentthe PPP Application Form to the Docusign userçcYashica
Bain''attheemailaddresskibrowpalacegs4@gmail.com.''Recordsobtainedfrom GoogleandT-
M obile indicated that the phone num ber associated w ith this em ailaccountw as BA IN 'S phone
number.?BAIN alsoprovidedtheemailaddressiibrowpalacegs4@gmail.com''toaco-conspirator
who has separately been charged as partof the scheme,Keyaira Bostic (ûûBostic'')58 via text
m essage when BAIN wasapplying forthe PPP loan on behalfofhercom pany M BS.
Based upon these records from Docusign,Google,and T-M obile,BAIN viewed
the PPP Application Form onoraboutM ay23,2020,at11:58 a.m .(UTC),and BAIN signed the
PPP ApplicationForm on oraboutM ay 23,2020,at1l:59a.m.(UTC)via amobiledeviceusing
an IP addressending in 99.9
1 ln addition, according to T-M obile records,the subscriber address for BA IN 'S phone
num ber is a residentialand m ailing address Iocated in M iam i, Florida,which is also listed on
BA IN 'S Florida Driver'sLicense.
8 On Decem ber 8, 2020,Bostic was indicted in the Southern D istrictof Florida w ith w ire
fraud,bank fraud,and conspiracy to com m itwire fraud and bank fraud forherrole in thisscheme.
See Case N o.20-cr-60139-W PD.
Asmentioned in paragraph 2l,thisIP address(ending in 99)isthesame IP addressused
by a com puteron or aboutM ay 23,2020,to connectto BAIN 'S em ailaccount. In addition,the
Docusign recordsretlectthatthe electronic signatureadopted forthe loan w asûûdrawn on devices''
w hich indicates thatthe adopted signature w as m anually draw n by the signer. The otheroption
available would have been to selectone of the predefsned styles from the Docusign program ,
Page 11 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 13 of 18
Based on the representations m ade in the loan application paperw ork and
supporting docum ents,the PPP loan application forM BS wasapproved,and on oraboutJune23,
2020,Bank 3 wired approximately $4l5,232.00 in Ioan proceedsinto the M BS bank accountat
Bank 4.
Emails.TextM essazesandBankRecordsConfirm BAIN 'SKnowinzParticipation in theFraud
A s partof the investigation,law enforcem entobtained com m unications between
Bostic and BA IN ,and between Bostic and CH S 2,including textm essages and emails. l have
review ed a num berofthese com m unications,w hich discussed,am ong otherthings,the PPP loan
forM BS. These com m unications occurred betw een on oraboutM ay 22,2020,and on orabout
June 26,2020. Bostic com m unicated w ith BA IN atBA IN 'S phone num ber,954-668-6263,the
sam e phone num berassociated with M BS.
lhave also review ed Bank 4 records forM BS and Bank 5 records fora com pany
controlled by CHS 2,w hich confirm ed BA IN 'S receiptof the M BS PPP Ioan proceeds and the
subsequentkickback paym entto CH S 2. Bank recordsshow thatM BS had an accountatBank 4
ending in *7820 (-ûBank 4 *78205').A signaturecard forthe Bank 4 *7820 accountshowsthat
BAIN opened theaccounton oraboutN ovem ber 14,2017,listed herposition aslûsigner,''and was
one of two authorized signers forthe account.lo O n oraboutJune 23, 2020,the Bank 4 *7820
accountreceived via bank wireapproximately $4l5,232 in loan proceedsfrom Bank 3 asaresult
ofM BS'SfraudulentPPP loan application.
Text m essages and em ails between BA IN and Bostic show how they exchanged
which would then populate the signature Iine with the bûpre-selected style.'' The D ocusign
signature on the loan application appearsto m atch the style ofBA IN 'SDA V ID signature.
The otherauthorized signerwasA ngela Sherea Perrim an-W right. The investigation has
revealed thatshe is BA IN 'Sm other.
Page 12 of 17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 14 of 18
inform ation in orderforBA IN to apply fora PPP Ioan. On oraboutM ay 2I,2020,Bostic senta
text m essage to BA IN ,w hich stated,kûsend m e your em ail I will send the intake sheet.'' ln
response,BAIN sentBostictheemailaddressiibrowpalacegs4@gmail.com.'' Subsequently,on
oraboutMay 21,2020,BosticemailedBAIN atkkbrowpalacegs4@gmail.com''anintakesheet.
A sexplained above,the intake form s contained fields forthe information needed to fabricate the
docum ents and filloutother aspects of the PPP application:identifying inform ation about the
ow nerand com pany,asw ellasbank accountinform ation forreceiving the loan. A section atthe
end m arked EûBELOW IS OFFICE U SE ON LY'' included blank fields for the ûçN um ber of
Em ployees,''ûtM onthly PayrollExpense,''and CCSBA Loan Pre-ApprovalA m ount.''
On or about M ay 2020, BA IN , using em ail address
'ibrowpalacegs4@ gmail.com,''sentBostic an iûapplication''and a February bank statement.
Subsequently,on oraboutM ay 23,2020,Bostic forw arded these docum entsto CH S 2.
A review of the text m essages betw een BA IN and Bostic show that BA IN was
considering using BA IN 'S m other's int-
orm ation to apply forthe PPP loan because BA IN was
concerned aboutBA IN 'Screditscore. On oraboutM ay 22,2020,BA IN senta textmessage to
Bostic thatstated,illfthey go by creditIm ay have to change the nam e to m y m om s because m y
Equifax w on'tm ove.'' Bostic replied,iicreditdoesn'tm atter M y hom e creditw as in the 300s.''
BA IN then responded,kûs'ly shitis 730 butm y Equifax is fucked.600.'' Bostic replied to BA IN ,
Ki-rhey don'tcheck credit,''to which BA IN responded,Sio k cool.''
A review of the text m essages between BA IN and Bostic also show that they
discussed the arrestofan individualaccused ofcom m itting fraud in connection w ith a PPP loan.
On oraboutM ay 24,2020,the day after BA IN applied forthe M BS PPP Ioan,Bostic sentBAIN
a link to anew sarticle thatdiscussed the arrestofan Atlanta reality TV staraccused ofcom m itting
Page 13 of 17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 15 of 18
fraud inconnectionwithaPPP loan(alittleover$2million)thatheobtained inthenameofhis
com pany. BA IN replied,i;Ok.'' Bostic then senta textm essage to BAIN that stated, 'çl-his is
buddy whathe did and the am ountw asa huge red tlag.''
BAIN and Bostic also discussed,via textm essages,the 25% kickback paym entto
CHS 2. On or aboutJune 24,2020,aftcrBostic had received the PPP loan proceeds, Bostic
forw arded to BA IN a textm essagethatCHS 2 had sentBostic. The textm essageread asfollows:
èiloay lheard back from blue vine they said they approved herand thatthe funds are hersto use.
Tellherm ake sure the fundsare available before she triesto use itTellherto send usour25% lol
Butshe isok to use Ihave the forgivenesspaperwork and lAm getting itready fordistribution for
everyone to sign do Ican work on itforthem .'' Subsequently,on oraboutJune 25,2020,Bostic
sent BA IN the w ire instructions for the kickback paym ent to CHS 2. The w ire instructions
included CHS 2's bank nam e, com pany nam e, hom e address, account num ber, and routing
num ber. BA IN w as supposed to follow these instructions in orderto w ire approxim ately 25% of
M BS'S PPP loan to an account CHS 2 controlled at Bank 5. Bostic then sent a follow -up text
message to BA IN thatstated,%ûH? said to putin the notes remodeling forthe salon.''
BA IN 'Sbank records confirm ed thatBA IN follow ed these instructions and wired
partofthe kickback paym entto CHS 2.A review ofBA IN 'Sbank recordsshowed thaton orabout
June25,2020,BAIN wired approximately $28,800 to CHS 2.BAIN wired thismoney from her
Bank 4 *7820 accountto an accountcontrolled by CHS 2 atBank 5. The m em o line forthe w ire
indicated itwas forkkF'orM icroblading Brow Studio/rem odeling salon.'' However,CH S 2 did not
perform oragree to perform any business upgrading servicesfor BA IN .
Subsequently,BA IN senta confirmation textto Bosticthatstated,itl-ley boo,Isent
28,800.55 Bostic replied,ttOk,''and then w rote,ûEl-le said u can do the restin cash,''to which BA IN
Page 14 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 16 of 18
replied,ikok that'sthe plans.''
39. A review of BA IN 'S bank records show that after BA IN received the PPP loan
proceeds,BA IN m ade substantialpaym entsto herselfand to otherindividualsthatpurportedto be
forpayrollexpenses.Forexample,onoraboutJune30,2020,BAIN wired herself$48,600.The
m em o line forthisw ire indicated itwas forbdback pay wages.'' On oraboutJuly 8,2020,BAIN
wired $50,000 to herboyfriend. The memo line forthis wire indicated itwasto ictake care of
payroll.'' On oraboutJuly 9,2020,BAIN'Sboyfriend received an additionalpaymentof$2,500
from M BS viaZelle fordtw ages.'' On oraboutOctober5,2020,Iinterviewed BA IN regarding her
PPP loan forM BS. This interview w as consensual. Am ong otherthings,BA IN stated thatthis
individualw asherboyfriend.BA IN initially said thatM BS did nothave m ore than 16 em ployees
atanyonetime(incontrasttothe21employeesclaimedonthePPP Ioanapplication,asdescribed
above). Afterfurtherquestioning,BA IN could notprovidenamesofemployeesandfurthersaid
the em ployees cam e and wentfrequently. She also claim ed thatM BS had roughly eightornine
em ployees in February 2020,and thatithad zero orvery few em ployees in M arch 2020,butshe
could notrecallthe exactnumber.
40. OnoraboutJuly 10,2020,BAIN wroteherselfacheckintheamountof$8,500for
%ûwages.'' From on or aboutJune 26,2020,through on or about August 14,2020,BA IN wrote
-kwages''and ûlpayroll''checks totaling approximately $77,020 and made payable to different
individuals,including herself.Forexample,onoraboutJuly 3,2020,BAIN wrotea$3,000 check
to an individual and the m em o line indicated it was for bipayroll/wages.'' l interviewed this
individual,w ho stated thathe/she did notknow BA IN orM BS;thathe/she has neverw orked for
BA IN orM BS;and thathe/shereceived thischeck from a friend who asked him/herto please cash
Page 15 of 17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 17 of 18
the check.
On oraboutJuly 31,2020,BAIN wrote a$5,250 check to anotherindividualand
the mem o Iine indicated itw asfor:lwages/payroll.'' linterviewed thisindividual,who stated that
he/she did notknow BA IN or M BS;that he/she has never worked for BAIN or M BS;and that
he/she received this check from someonc else in orderto help w ith his/her schoolpaym ent. A
review of BA IN 'S bank records does not show that BA IN personally received or paid these
am ounts of w ages prior to the date w hen she obtained the PPP loan. Further,as previously
described,IRS recordsshow thatM BS did not, in fact,t5le any Form s 94 1forany quarterof20l9
orthe firstquarterof2020,and Florida Departm entof Revenue records show thatM BS did not
reportany w ages oremployeesforthatsam e period.
42. BAIN 'Sbank recordsalso show thatBA IN m ade substantialpaym entsto M BS and
failed to use this m oney on business-related orpayroll-related expensesforM BS. Forexam ple,
on oraboutJuly 13,2020,shetransferred approximately $65,000 from Bank4 *7820 accountto
anotherbankaccountinthenameofM BS.Subsequently,approximately $53,503waswithdrawn
from thisother M BS accountand a cashier'scheck for$8,000 wasm ade payable to M idtown
Lounge 55, a bar and Iounge in M iam i, Florida. Law enforcem ent agents interviewed the
individualfam iliarwith the $8,000 cashier'scheck,and this individualstated thatBAIN paid
her/him thism oney in orderto purchase M idtow n Lounge 55.
Page 16 of17
Case 0:21-mj-06152-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/16/2021 Page 18 of 18
CON CLUSIO N
43. Based on the fol'
going, Il-
espectfully subm itthatthere isprobable cause to believe
thatYASHICA SHEREA BA IN comlnitted theTal'
getO ffenses, fi'
om on oraboutM ay 22 , 2020,
to atleaston oraboutAugust !4, 2020,inthe Southern DistrictofFlorida, and elsewhere.
FURTHER YO UR AFFIA NT SAYETH NAUG IIT .
.
0..*
.
*- , H,
- >
Beatriz Feito
SpecialAgent
IRS-CI
Attested to by the applicantin accordance
with the requirelnentsj
g'.ed.R.Crim .P.4,1
by telephone,on this 11 ay ofM arch, 202I,
.
at120rtLauderdale,Florida.
HONORABLE PAV ICK M.HUNT
UN ITED STATES M AGISTRATE JUDGE
Page 17 of17
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