Information — United States v. Benjamin Rafael (S.D. Fla.)
Summary
A criminal information filed by the United States Attorney against Benjamin Rafael, Case No. 1:21-cr-20161-BB, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, entered on the docket March 17, 2021 as Document 1. Count 1 charges a false statement to a financial institution under Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014. The information alleges that in a PPP loan application to TD Bank for $12,500 on behalf of Benjamin Rafael P.A., the defendant represented that no owner had pleaded guilty to or been convicted of a felony within the last five years, when the defendant had pleaded guilty to and been convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. It includes forfeiture allegations, a penalty sheet listing a maximum of 30 years imprisonment, and a waiver of indictment form.
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“Information — United States v. Benjamin Rafael (S.D. Fla.).”
Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/court-filing-no-1-21-cr-20161-dkt-1-s-d-fla-2addf427c8/
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Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 1 of 8JA
#
Mar 17, 2021
UNITED STATES DISTRICT CO UR T
SO UTH ERN DISTRICT O F FLO RIDA
21-20161-CR-BLOOM/OTAZO-REYES
CaseN o. -
18U.S.C.j1014
18U.S.C.j982(a)(2)
UNITED STATES O F AM ERICA
VS.
BENJAM IN M FAEL,
Defendant.
/
IN FO RM ATIO N
The United StatesAttorney charges:
GEN ER AL A LLEG A TIO NS
AtaIltim esm aterialto this lnform ation:
The Sm allBusinessA dm inistration
The United States Small Business Adm inistration (û1SBA'') was an executive
branch agency ofthe United States governm entthatprovided supportto entrepreneurs and sm all
businesses. The m ission of the SBA was to m aintain and strengthen the nation's econom y by
enabling the establishm ent and viability of sm allbusinesses and by assisting in the econom ic
recovery ofcom m unitiesafterdisasters.
2. A spal4ofthiseffol'
t,the SBA enabled and provided forIoansthrough banks,credit
unions,and otherIenders. These loanshad governm ent-backed guarantees.
The Pavcheck Protection Proaram
TheCoronavirusAidnRelief,and EconomicSecurity(ûiCARES'')Actwasafederal
Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 2 of 8
law enacted in or aboutM arch 2020 and w as designed to provide em ergency finaneialassistance
to the m illionsofA m ericansw ho were suffering the econom ic effects caused by the COV lD -19
pandem ic.
One source ofreliefthatthe CA RES A ctprovided forw asthe authorization ofup
to $349 billion in forgivable loansto smallbusinessesforpayroll,mortgage interest,rent/lease,
andutilities,throughaprogram referredtoasthePaycheckProtectionProgram (diPPP'').lnApril
2020,Congressauthorizedup to $310 billion in additionalPPP funding.
5. The PPP allowed qualifying sm allbusinesses and other organizations to receive
PPP loans. Businesses w ere required to use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on
m ortgages,rent,and utilities. The PPP allowed the interestand principalon the PPP loan to be
entirely forgiven ifthe businessspentthe loan proceedson theseexpenseitem swithin adesignated
period oftim e and used a certain percentage ofthe PPP Ioan proceedsforpayrollexpenses.
The am ount of a PPP loan that a sm allbusiness vvas eligible to receive yvas
determ ined by the num ber of em ployees em ployed by the business and the business's average
m onthly payrollcosts.
In orderto obtain a PPP loan,a qualifying businessw as required to subm ita PPP
loan application,w hich wassigned by an authorized representativeofthe business. The PPP loan
application required the business (through its authorized representative) to acknowledge the
program rules and m ake certain affirm ative cetifications. Specifically, PPP loan applications
required the authorized representativeofthe sm allbusinessto advise ifan individualowning 20%
or more ofthe equity ofthe business was subjectto an indictment,criminal information,
arraignm ent, or other m eans by w hich formal charges are brought. A dditionally, PPP loan
Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 3 of 8
applicationsrequired the authorized representative ofthe sm allbusinessto advise ifany ownerof
the business had,in the lastfsve years,been convicted orpleaded guilty to any felony.
8. The SBA oversaw the PPP. However,individualPPP loanswere issued by private,
approved lenders w ho received and processed PPP applications and supporting docum entation,
and then m ade loans using the lenders'own funds,which were 100% guaranteed by the SBA .
Data from the application,including inform ation aboutthe borrower,the totalam ountofthe loan,
and the listed num berof em ployees,was transm itted by the lender to the SBA in the course of
processing the loan.
9. TD Bank,N.A.,(CûTD Ba1Ak''lwasaU.S.bankwhosedepositswereinsured
bytheFederalDepositlnsuranceCorporation (kûFDIC'').
The D efendantand Related Entitv
DefendantBENJA M IN R AFAEL,aresidentofM iam i-D adeCounty,Florida,w as
thepresident,registered agent,andsoleownerofBenjamin RafaelP.A., aFloridacorporation
w ith itsprincipalplace ofbusiness in M iam i-llade County in the Southern D istrictofFlorida.
FALSE STA TEM EN T TO A FINAN CIA L INSTITUTIO N
(18U.S.C.j1014)
On oraboutApril8,2020,in M iam i-D ade County,in the Southern D istrictofFlorida,and
elsewhere,the defendant,
BENJAM IN R AFA EL,
did know ingly m ake a false statem entfor the purpose of intluencing the actions of a financial
institution,thatis,TD Banknthe accountsofw hich w ere insured by the FederalDepositlnsurance
Corporation,in connection with a PPP loan application in the amountof $12,500 on behalfof
Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 4 of 8
BenjaminRafaelP.A.,in thatthedefendantfalselyrepresented intheloan application submitted
toTD BankthatnoownerofBenjaminRafaelP.A.hadpleadedguiltytoorbeeneonvictedofany
felony w ithin the lastfive years,w hen in trtlth and in fact,and asthe defendantthen and there w ell
knew,he had,w ithin the lastfive years,pleaded guilty to and w asconvicted ofthe felony offense
ofconsipiracy to com m itw ire fraud,in violation ofTitle l8,United States Code,Section l014.
FO R FEITU RE
(18U.S.C.j982)
The allegationsofthislnform ation are hereby re-alleged and by thisreference fully
incorporated herein forthe purpose ofalleging forfeiture to the United States ofcertain property
in w hich the defendant,BEN JA M IN R AFA EL,has an interest.
Upon conviction ofthe violation of'l-itle 18,U nited States Code,Section l014,as
alleged in this lnform ation, defendant shall forfeit to the U nited States any property
constituting,orderived from ,proceedstheperson obtained directly orindirectly,asthe resultofthe
offense,pursuanttoTitle18,UnitedStatesCode,Section982(a)(2).
lfanyoftheproperty stlbjecttoforfeiture,asaresultofanyactoromissionofthe
defendant'
.
cannotbe located upon the exercise ofdue diligence;
hasbeen transferred,sold to,ordeposited w ith,a third party;
C. hasbeenplaced beyondthejurisdictionofthecourt;
d. hasbeen substantially dim inished in value;or
Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 5 of 8
hasbeen com m ingled w ith otherpropel'ty which cannotbe divided w ithout
difficulty,
the United Statesshallbe entitled to forfeiture ofsubstitute property pursuantto Title 21,United
StatesCode,Section853(p).
AllpursuanttoTitlel8,UnitedStatesCode,Section982(a)(2),andtheproceduressetforth
in Title 21,U nited StatesCode,Section 853.
''
/J). 'Jl.
,
ARIAN A FAJARDO O RSHAN
UN ITED STATES ATTORN EY
> .
eo #
A CEE ELl ABETH M ONK
ASSISTAN T UN ITED STA TES A TTORN EY
Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 6 of 8
UNITED STATES DISTR ICT CO URT
SO UTIIERN DISR'RICT O F FLORIDA
UNITED STATES O F AM ERICA
C ERTIFICATE O F TRIAL ATTO RNEYA
Benjamin Rafael,
Superseding CaseInform ation:
Defendant. /
CourtDivisiol!:(selectOne) New defendantts) Yes
?' M iaml Key W est Numberofnew defendants
FTL W PB FTP Totalnum berofcounts
lhavecarefully considered the allegationsofthe indictment,thenumberofdefendants, the numberof
probable witnessesandthelegalcom plexitiesofthelndictment/lnformation attached hereto.
lam aware thatthe information supplied on this statementwillbe relied upon by the Judges ofthis
Courtin setting theircalendars and scheduling crim inaltrials underthe mandate ofthe Speedy Trial
Act,Title 28 U.S.C.Section 316l.
lnterpreter: (YesorNo)
Listlanguageand/ordialect
Thiscasewilltake 0 daysforthepartiesto try.
Pleasecheck appropriatecategory and type ofoffense listedbelow :
(Checkonlyone)
l 0 to 5 days / Petty
ll 6 to l0 days M inor
1lI 11to 20 days M isdem .
IV 21to 60 days Felony /
V 61daysand over
6. HasthiscasepreviouslybeentiledinthisDistrictCourt? (YesorNo)
lfyes:Judge caseNo.
(Attach copy ofdispositiveorder)
Hasacomplaintbeentiledinthismatter? (YesorNo) X0
lfyes:M agistrate CaseNo.
Related m iscellaneousnum bers: l9-20447-CR-S1NGHAL
Defendantts)infederalcustodyasof
Defendantts)instatecustodyasof
Rule20 from theDistrictof
lsthisapotentialdeathpenaltycase?(YesorNo)
Doesthiscase originatefrom am atterpending in the CentralRegion oftheU.S.Attorney'sOffice
priortoAugust9,2013(Mag.JudgeAlicia0.Valle)? Yes No /
8. Doesthiscaseoriginatefrom a matterpending intheNorthern Regionofthe U.S.Attorney'sOftice
priortoAugust8,2014(M ag.JudgeShaniekMaynard)? Yes No z
Doesthiscase originatefrom am atterpending in the CentralRegion oftheU.S.Attorney'
sOftice
priortoOctober3,2019(Mag.JudgeJaredStrauss)? Yes No z
. '
. )
LaceeElizabeth M onk
A ssistantU nited StatesAttorney
FloridaB arN o.100322
tpenaltySheetts)attached
Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 7 of 8
UNITED STATES DISTRIC T C O URT
SO UTH ER N DISTRICT O F FLOR IDA
PENALTY SH EET
Defendant'sName: BenjaminRafael
Case No:
Count#:1
False Statementto a Financiallnstitution
Title 18,U nited StatesCode,Section 1014
*M ax.Penalty:30 Years'lmprisonm ent
iRefersonly to possible term ofincarceration,does notinclude possible fines,restitution,
specialassessm ents,parole term s,orforfeituresthatm ay be applicable.
Case 1:21-cr-20161-BB Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 03/17/2021 Page 8 of 8
AO 455(Rev.01/09)WaiverofanIndictment
U NITED STATES D ISTRICT COURT
forthe
United StatesofAm erica
Case N o.
BenjaminRafael,
Defendant
W AIV ER O F A N IND IC TM ENT
lunderstandthatlhave been accused ofoneorm ore offensespunishableby imprisonm entform ore than one
year. 1wasadvised in open courtofmy rightsandthenature ofthe proposed chargesagainstme.
Afterreceiving thisadvice,Iwaivemy rightto prosecution by indictm entand consentto prosecution by
information.
(late:
Printedzytzl
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