Bill of Information — U.S. v. Jazmin J. Bougere (E.D. La.)

Summary

A Bill of Information for False Statements to the Small Business Administration and Theft of Government Funds in United States of America v. Jazmin J. Bougere, Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, filed March 3, 2023 as Document 1. Count 1 alleges that on or about May 12, 2021 the defendant stated on an SBA Form 2483 PPP Borrower Application to Prestamos CDFI, LLC that a business named Bougere Designz earned $79,897 for the 2020 tax year, when, the charge states, the business did not exist and the supporting Schedule C was false. Count 2 alleges theft of approximately $2,100 in Pandemic Unemployment Assistance paid through the Arizona Department of Economic Security. The information includes a notice of forfeiture.

Summary drafted by a model from the text of the original file linked on this page 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

“Bill of Information — U.S. v. Jazmin J. Bougere (E.D. La.).” Original at ia601602.us.archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/court-filing-no-2-23-cr-00043-dkt-1-800b3e5c61/, SHA-256 27e4beb26444a5939dd9b64ae2839998c05c86ce6b3364163d3f736d8d0f0536.

Full text

Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 1 of 8

u s orfih,.-!fl**,*,
t,l,SIl_r)li ll i'l':iT ii:' i. ;:,

l0Zl HAH -3 p t' \3 CC

:-*'TETruNIY
,'#;;?^:;i,T,'f,3f3}i'&,:3,1ffi S Ee L E D
BILL OF INFORMATION FOR FALSE STATEMENTS TO THE SMALL
BUSINESS TRATION AND THEFT OF GO FUNDS

,r
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
* I
xlf*?ffirttc4
Y

JAZMIN J. BOUGERE *
18 U.S.C. S 641
,r * *

The United States Attorney charges that:

COI]NT 1
(False Statements)

A. AT ALL TIMES TERIAL HEREIN:

1. The defendant, JItZMIN J. BOUGERE ("BOUGERE"), was a resident of

Raceland, Louisiana, within the Eastern District of Louisiana.

The Small Business Administration

2. The United States Small Business Administration ("SBA") was an executive-branch

agency of the United States government that provided support to entrepreneurs and small

businesses. The mission of the SBA was to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by

enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses and by assisting in the economic

recovery of communities after disasters

-Fee
Proc

Doc.No'
-CtRmDeP
Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 2 of 8

3. As part of its efforts, the SBA provided business loans through banks, credit unions,

and other lenders. Those loans had government backed guarantees.

The CARES Act and Paycheck Protection Program

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 ofthe COVID-l9 pandemic.

One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorizationof forgivable loans to small

businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred to as the

Paycheck Protection Program ("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 qualiffing 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 program 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 of the PPP loan application process. These

figures were used to calculate the amount of money the small business was eligible to receive

under the PPP.

2
Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 3 of 8

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 Internal 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 qualiffing 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. Prestamos CDFI,

LLC was a participating 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.

B. THE OFFENSE:

On or about May 12, 2021, in the Eastern District of Louisiana and elsewhere, the

defendant, JAZMIN J. BOUGERE, did willfully and knowingly make a materially false,

fictitious, and fraudulent statement and representation in a matter within the jurisdiction of the

United States Small Business Administration (SBA), an agency within the executive branch of the

United States, in that the defendant stated in her SBA Form 2483 PPP Borrower Application Form

)
Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 4 of 8

to Prestamos CDFI, LLC that her business named Bougere Designz earned $79,897 for the 2020

tax year. The statements and representations were false, because, as JAZMIN J. BOUGERE then

and there knew, Bougere Designz was a non-existent business, she did not eam $79,897 for the

2020 tax years, and the 2020 IRS Form Schedule C that she submitted in the name of Bougere

Designz reflecting the earned income was a false and fraudulent document, in violation of Title

18, United States Code, Section 1001.

COUNT 2
(Theft of Government Funds)

A. AT ALL TIMES MATERIAL HEREIN:

The allegations contained in Paragraph A of Count 1 are hereby re-alleged and incorporated

as though fully set forth herein.

CARES Act Funded Unemployment Insurance Proeram

1. Unemployment Insurance ("UI') was a state-federal program that provided

monetary benefits to eligible lawful workers. Although State Workforce Agencies ("SWAs")

administered their respective UI programs, they must do so in accordance with federal laws and

regulations. UI payments ("benef,rts") were intended to provide temporary financial assistance to

lawful workers who are unemployed through no fault of their own. Each state sets its own

additional requirements for eligibility, benefit amounts, and length of time benefits can be paid.

Generally, UI weekly benefit amounts are based on a percentage of your earnings over a base

period.

2. In the State of Aizona, the Arizona Department of Economic Security ("ADES")

administered the UI program.

4
Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 5 of 8

3. On March 13,2020, the President declared the ongoing COVID-l9 pandemic of

sufficient severity and magnitude to warrant an emergency declaration for all states, tribes,

territories, and the District of Columbia pursuant to section 501 (b) of the Robert T. Stafford

Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, 42 U.S.C. 5121-5207 (the "Stafford Act"). This

allowed state, territorial, tribal, local goverrrment entities and certain private non-profit (PNP)

organizations to be eligible to apply for public assistance.

4. On March 18,2020, the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response

Act ("FFCRA") into law. The FFCRA provides additional flexibility for state UI agencies and

additional administrative funding to respond to the COVID-I9 pandemic. The CARES Act was

signed into law on March 27,2020.I1 expanded states' ability to provide UI for many workers

impacted by COVID-I9, including for workers who are not ordinarily eligible for UI benefits. The

CARES Act provided for three new UI programs: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance ("PUA");

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation ("FPUC"); and Pandemic Emergency

Unemployment Compensation ("PEUC"). AEDS administered the payments of state-federal funds

under the three new UI programs for Arizona claimants.

5. In Arizona, a UI claim could be filed online on the ADES website. When an

individual filed a UI claim, the ADES automatically maintained certain information regarding the

filing of the claim. This information included the date and time the claim was submitted, the nurme

of the person for whom the claim was filed, and the IP address of the computer, or ISP account,

that was used to f,rle the claim.

6. UI claimants had to answer various questions to establish their eligibility for UI

benefits. Claimants had to provide their name, Social Security Number, and mailing address. The

5
Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 6 of 8

claimants had to also identifr a qualiffing occupational status and/or COVID-I9 related reason

for being out of work.

7. After ADES accepted a UI claim, it typically deposited UI funds every two weeks

in one of three ways selected by the claimant, e.g. Electronic Bill Payment ("EBP") debit card,

direct deposit to the claimant checking or saving account, or physical check to be mailed via U.S.

Mail.

8. When receiving regular UI benefits, claimants had to complete a recertification

every two weeks, under penalty of perjury, that they remained unemployed or otherwise eligible

to receive UI benefits. In additiotr, ily wages earned by the claimant must be reported during this

recertifi cation process.

B. THE OFFENSE:

On or about August of 2020, in Eastern District of Louisiana and elsewhere, the defendant,

JAZMIN J. BOUGERE, did willfully and knowingly embezzle, steal, purloin and convert to her

own use, money belonging to the United States namely, by receiving approximately $2,100 in

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance in the form of unemployment benefits through the Arizona

Department of Economic Security, such benefits being subsidized by the federal CARES Act, to

which she knew that she was not entitled, all in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section

64t.

NOTICE OF FORFEITURE

1. The allegations of Counts 1 and 2 of this Bill of Information are incorporated by

reference as though set forth fully herein for the purpose of alleging forfeiture to the United States.

2. As a result of the offense alleged in Count 1, the defendant, JAZMIN J.

BOUGERE, shall forfeit to the United States pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section

6
Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 7 of 8

982(a), any property,rcal or personal, involved in said offense, and any property traceable to such

property.

3. As a result of the offense alleged in Count 2, the defendant, JAZMIN J.

BOUGERE, shall forfeit to the United States pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section

981(aX1XC), and Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c), any property real or personal

which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to said offense.

4. 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 the jurisdiction of the Court;

d. has been substantially diminished in value; or

e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be subdivided

without diffrculty;

the United States shall seek a money judgment and, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code,

Section 8530), forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to the value of said property.

DUANE A. EVANS
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

EDW J. zuVERA
Assistant United States Attomey
New Orleans, Louisiana
March 3,2023

7
Case 2:23-cr-00043-BWA-KWR Document 1 Filed 03/03/23 Page 8 of 8

.5 \
H:

(! o
\ D
o
E'
E' H
-
r{
v, E a
\i r. C d F}
\
h ffiE 2,
rn
F
19
d 3
V1
-t z
u'
rrr Q
6@ 83I
s5H N
ln
U u
{ c-,
FF
ao V) U F}
81
Ps- z -l a F}
gI hh
.o).o)
ryq'-2
- -l
FJ
F
41
o (9
;k
ZR
O\H
50
-O
i.li- EU
o
e
E ln
v)
o
o
-l
o
F tR.
-l \L(
H

tt 1!'
EP
>A
;03
>uo o
rd
?l
FTJ
F).
tR.
F}
F rr Ft
o
\ 9,ei
[rJ O
frj trj
F o
-)-l {a
-r
F}
a 1F o
st\)
NJ
4
o
Frl
(r)

2
e
E}
U t, -)
F)
|.t
€ o F}
q G
$

File and source

File: 1.pdf
Size: 325,615 bytes
SHA-256: 27e4beb26444a5939dd9b64ae2839998c05c86ce6b3364163d3f736d8d0f0536
Our copy: 1.pdf
Original: ia601602.us.archive.org