Bill of Information — United States v. Brandi Weber (E.D. La.)
Summary
A Felony Bill of Information for False Statement to the Small Business Administration in United States of America v. Brandi Weber, Case 2:23-cr-00035-WBV-DPC, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, filed March 1, 2023 as Document 1. Count I charges a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. It alleges that the defendant stated on an SBA Form 2483 PPP Borrower Application to Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC that she earned approximately $49,450 in tax year 2020 as an esthetician, supported by a false Form 1040 Schedule C, leading to a PPP loan of approximately $10,302.00. It also alleges an earlier targeted advance Economic Injury Disaster Loan of $3,500 premised on false statements about a dog grooming business. The notice of forfeiture cites 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(3).
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“Bill of Information — United States v. Brandi Weber (E.D. La.).”
Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/court-filing-no-2-23-cr-00035-dkt-1-e7a270b2a9/
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Case 2:23-cr-00035-WBV-DPC Document 1 Filed 03/01/23 Page 1 of 6
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CAROL L. HICHEL
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA FELONY
BILL OF INFORMATION FOR FALSE
STATEMENT TO TIIE SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA cRTMTNAL*o.2 ; r ttlrrllff
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BRANDIWEBER {r
VIOLATION: 18 U.S.C. $ 1001
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The United States Attorney charges that
COI'NT 1
A. AT ALL TIMES MATERIAL HEREIN:
l. The defendant, BRANDI WEBER (*WEBER"), was a resident of New Orleans,
Louisian4 within the Eastem District of Louisiana
The Small Business Administration
2. The United States Small Business Administration ("SBA") was an executive-branch
agency of the United States govemment that provided support to entrepreneurs and small
businesses. The mission of the SBA was to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by
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Case 2:23-cr-00035-WBV-DPC Document 1 Filed 03/01/23 Page 2 of 6
enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic
recovery of communities after disasters.
3. As part of its efforts, the SBA provided business loans through banks, credit urions,
and other lenders. Those loans had govemment backed guarantees.
The CARES Act and Pavcheck Protection Proglam
4. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act") was a
federal law enacted in or about March 2020. The CARES Act provided emergency financial
assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects of the COVID-I9
pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable
loans to small businesses forjob retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred
to as the Paycheck Protection Program C'PPP').
5. The PPP was overseen by the SBA, which had authority over all PPP loans.
Individual PPP loans, however, were issued by approved private lenders, who received and
processed PPP loan applications and supporting documentation and, following SBA approval,
made loans using the lenders' own funds.
6. To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifiing business had to submit a PPP loan application
signed by an authorized representative of the business, The PPP loan application required the
business, through its authorized representative, to acknowledge the progmm rules and to make
affirmative certifications to be eligible for the PPP loan. For example, in the PPP loan application
(SBA From 2483), the business, through its authorized representative, had to state its average
monthly payroll expenses and number of employees. In addition, businesses had to provide
documentation showing their payroll expenses, as part ofthe PPP loan application process. These
2
Case 2:23-cr-00035-WBV-DPC Document 1 Filed 03/01/23 Page 3 of 6
figures were used to calculate the amount of money the small business was eligible to receive
under the PPP.
7. Among the type of businesses eligible for a PPP loan were individuals who operated
under a "sole proprietorship" business structure. In order to be eligible to receive such a PPP loan,
individuals had to report and document their income and expenses from the sole proprietorship, as
typically reported to the Intemal Revenue Service (*IRS") on Form 1040, Schedule C, for a given
year. The lending institution or loan processor used this information and documents to calculate
the amount of money the individual was entitled to receive under PPP.
8. Once a quali$ing business completed a PPP application, a participating lender
processed the application. If a PPP loan was approved, the participating lender funded the PPP
loan using its own monies, which the SBA guaranteed. In the course of processing the PPP loan,
the lender transmitted data from the loan application to the SBA, including information about the
borrower, the total amount of the loan, and the identified number of employees. Harvest Small
Business Finance, LLC was a participating financial technology lender in the PPP.
9. Proceeds from a PPP loan were legally required to be used only for certain
permissible business expenses, including payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities. Under
the applicable PPP rules and guidance. The interest and principal on the PPP loan was eligible for
forgiveness, if the business spent the loan proceeds on permissible items within a designated period
of time and used a certain portion of the loan toward payroll expenses.
10. On or about July 12,2020, WEBER filed for and later received a targeted advance
Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the SBA in the amount of $3,500, premised upon the false
statements that she had a dog grooming business with 9 employees and gross revenues of $35,000
in2019.
3
Case 2:23-cr-00035-WBV-DPC Document 1 Filed 03/01/23 Page 4 of 6
I l. On or about Apil 12,2021, WEBER filed for and later received a PPP loan from
Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC in the amount of $10,302, premised upon the false
statements that she was employed as an esthetician and eamed $49,450 during 2020.
B. THEOFFENSE:
On or about Apil 2, 2021, in the Eastem District of Louisiana and elsewhere, the
defendant, BRANDI WEBER, did knowingly and willfully make a materially false, fictitious,
and fraudulent statement and representation in a matter within the jurisdiction of the SBA, an
agency within the executive branch of the United States, in that the defendant stated in her SBA
Form 2483 PPP Borrower Application to Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC that she earned
approximately $49,450 in tax year 2020 as an esthetician; however, in truth and in fact, the
defendant knew that she did not have any eamings in 2020 as an esthetician and that the tax year
2020 Internal Revenue Service Form 1040 Schedule C that she submitted in support of her alleged
eamings was a false document, leading to her receipt of an SBA backed PPP loan of approximately
$10,302.00, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001.
NOTIC E OF FORFEITURE
l. The allegations of Count I of this Bill of Information are incorporated by reference
as though set forth fully herein for the pwpose of alleging forfeiture to the United States.
2. As a result of the offense alleged in count l, the defendant, BRANDI WEBER,
shall forfeit to the United States pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(3), any
property, real or personal, which represents or is traceable to the gross receipts obtained, directly
or indirectly, as a result of such offense.
4
Case 2:23-cr-00035-WBV-DPC Document 1 Filed 03/01/23 Page 5 of 6
3. If any of the above-described property, as a result of any act or omission of the
defendant:
a. cannot be located upon the exercise ofdue diligence;
b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third person;
c. has been placed beyond thejurisdiction ofthe Court;
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or
e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be subdivided
without difficulty;
the United States shall seek a money judgment and, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code,
Section 853(p), forfeiture ofany other property ofthe defendant up to the value ofsaid property.
DUANE A. EVANS
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
EDW J. RIVERA
Assistant United States AttorneY
New Orleans, Louisiana
N.larch1,2023
5
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Case 2:23-cr-00035-WBV-DPC Document 1 Filed 03/01/23 Page 6 of 6
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