Indictment — United States v. Sarrah Denton Willhite (Eastern District of Tennessee, Document 1)

Summary

Indictment filed July 20, 2022 as Document 1 in United States of America v. Sarrah Denton Willhite, Case No. 3:22-cr-00069-TAV-DCP, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee, at Knoxville. Count One charges wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, alleging that beginning on or about November 27, 2021 and continuing to on or about January 28, 2022 the defendant devised a scheme to obtain Economic Injury Disaster Loan proceeds by false statements about employees, gross revenue, expenses and intended use. It alleges that the defendant submitted an electronic loan application on behalf of Rescue Army Nation Ministries on or about November 27, 2021, created a fraudulent 2019 Profit & Loss Statement and submitted a Certification and Resolution Form with a forged signature. The forfeiture allegations seek a personal money judgment of $346,600 and listed property.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUL 20 2022
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE —
k, U. S. District Cou
AT KNOXVILLE astern District of Tennessee
At Knoxville
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
) ,
Vv. ) Case No. hr Oger (69
} Rel
SARRAH DENTON WILLHITE ) Judges: Vac \an | oplig
)
INDICTMENT
The Grand Jury charges:

Background and Relevant Parties
At all times relevant to this indictment:
1. The defendant, SARRAH DENTON WILLHITE, resided in the Eastern District
of Tennessee and purported to own and operate Rescue Army Nation Ministries.
ae Rescue Army Nation Ministries was a nonprofit organization registered in the
State of Mississippi that purportedly operated in the Eastern District of Tennessee and elsewhere.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans
3. On March 27, 2020, in response to the economic crisis caused by the novel
coronavirus pandemic, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic
Security Act (“CARES Act”). The CARES ACT provided emergency assistance to small
business owners, including agricultural businesses, and nonprofit organizations in all U.S. States,
Washington D.C., and territories affected by the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The two
sources of funding for small businesses were the Paycheck Protection Program and the

Economic Injury Disaster Loan (““EIDL”) program.
4, The EIDL program was administrated by the Small Business Administration
(“SBA”) and provided low-interest loans to small businesses, renters, and homeowners in
regions affected by declared disasters.

5. The CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs of up to $2 million to
eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19
pandemic. In addition, the CARES Act authorized the SBA to issue advances of up to $10,000
to small businesses within three days of applying for an EIDL.

6. To obtain an EIDL and advance, a qualifying business was required to submit an
application to the SBA and provide information about its operations, such as the number of
employees, gross revenue for the 12-month period preceding the disaster, and cost of goods sold
in the 12-month period preceding the disaster. In the case of EIDLs for COVID-19 relief, the
12-month period was the period preceding January 31, 2020. For a business to be eligible for an
EIDL, the business must have been in operation before February 1, 2020. The applicant was also
required to certify that all the information in the application was true and correct to the best of
the applicant’s knowledge.

7. EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA and processed by the
agency with support from a government contractor, Rapid Finance. Approval of a loan
application and the amount of a loan was based, in part, on the information provided on the
application about the number of employees, gross revenue, and cost of goods, as described above.
Upon approval of an application for an EIDL or advance, SBA will disburse the funds. EIDL loan
proceeds were permitted to be used for payroll expenses, sick leave, production costs, and

business obligations, such as debts, rent, and mortgage payments.

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Case 3:22-cr-O00069-TAV-DCP Document1 Filed 07/20/22 Page2of6 PagelD
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COUNT ONE
Wire Fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343

The Scheme

9. Beginning on or about November 27, 2021, and continuing to on or about January
28, 2022, the defendant, SARRAH DENTON WILLHITE, knowingly and willfully devised and
intended to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud, and to obtain money and property, by means
of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.

Purpose and Object of the Scheme

10. It was the purpose and object of the scheme for WILLHITE to unjustly enrich
herself and others by obtaining EIDL proceeds under false and misleading pretenses, including
by making false statements about the number of individuals employed; the gross revenue
generated, and the expenses incurred; and the intended use of the EIDL proceeds.

Manner and Means

11. It was part of the scheme that WILLHITE submitted an electronic loan
application on behalf of Rescue Army Nation Ministries, a nonprofit organization that
purportedly provided faith-based rehabilitation and counseling services to individuals.
WILLHITE inflated the organization’s gross revenues and expenses; fabricated the number of
individuals employed by the organization; and misrepresented her intended use of the EIDL
proceeds—all for the purpose of obtaining EIDL funds intended for distressed small businesses
because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

12. It was further part of the scheme that WILLHITE created a fraudulent 2019 Profit
& Loss Statement that inflated the organization’s gross revenues and expenses. WILLHITE
knew this document contained false information. WILLHITE created the 2019 Profit & Loss

Statement solely for the purpose of obtaining EIDL funds to which she was not entitled.

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13. It was further part of the scheme that WILLHITE submitted to the SBA a
fraudulent Certification and Resolution Form on which WILLHITE forged the signature of a
person who WILLHITE claimed was the Secretary of Rescue Army Nation Ministries.

14. It was further part of the scheme that WILLHITE attempted to conceal the
scheme by transferring a portion of the EIDL proceeds to her personal checking account.

Execution of the Scheme

15. On or about November 27, 2021, in the Eastern District of Tennessee, the
defendant, SARRAH DENTON WILLHITE, for the purpose of executing the scheme and
artifice described above, transmitted or caused to be transmitted by means of wire
communication in interstate commerce a writing, sign, or signal—that is, the electronic
submission of an EIDL application on behalf of Rescue Army Nation Ministries—from
WILLHITE’s electronic device, located in the Eastern District of Tennessee, to the SBA’s
computer servers administered by Rapid Finance, located outside the State of Tennessee.

All in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.

Forfeiture Allegations

The allegations above are hereby realleged and incorporated by reference for the purpose
of alleging forfeitures pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, § 981(a)(1)(C), and Title 28,
United States Code, § 2461(c).

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), upon conviction of the
violation alleged in Count One of this Indictment, in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Section 1343, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States, any property constituting, or
derived from, proceeds defendant obtained directly or indirectly, as the result of such violation.
The property to be forfeited includes, but is not limited to, the following:

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Money Judgment:

A personal money judgment in the amount of $346,600 in U.S. currency, which
represents the minimum amount of proceeds the defendant personally obtained as a result
of an offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343.

Bank Accounts:

a. $3,277.60 seized from Citizens National Bank, Account Number 11217593, in the
name of Sarrah Willhite Denton;

b. $1,007.44, from Citizens National Bank, Check 204238; and

c. $2,954.01, from Citizens National Bank, Account Number 4306119, in the name
of The Table Restaurant.

Real Property:

Real Property Located at 265 Midnight Way, Parrottsville, Tennessee 37843 and more
particularly described as follows:

BEGINNING at a 5/8 inch iron rod in the line of Hommel (W.D. Book 286, Page 164),
said iron rod being located North 76° 25' 52" East 89.82 feet from a spike in a 14 inch ash
in a fence, and running thence North 15° 16' 09' West 18.99 feet to a point on the
centerline of a 30 foot right-of-way commonly known as Midnight Way and in the line of

- Spann (W.D.Book 343, Page 338); thence with said right-of-way centerline five courses
as follows: a curve to the left (Tangent=370.28 feet; Radius=101.81 feet; Arc
Length=265.21 feet; Chord Length=186.33 feet; Chord Bearing=North 11° 50' 06" East;
Delta Angle=149° 15' 10"); North 62° 47' 29" West 70.01 feet; North 78° 01' 58" West
97.61 feet; North 54° 10' 40" West 56.36 feet; and North 38° 38' 13" West 198.03 feet to
a point where said 30 foot right-of-way becomes a 50 foot right-of-way; thence with said
right-of-way centerline North 46° 21' 49" West 43.30 feet to a point; thence leaving said
right-of-way centerline North 43° 32' 38" East 24.67 feet to a 5/8 inch iron rod; thence
North 43° 32' 38" East 307.12feet to a 5/8 inch iron pin rod in the line of Robeson (Will
Book 10, Page 243); thence with the Robeson line, South 20° 38' 18" East 48.00 feet to a
wood fence post; thence South 19° 42' 26" East 257.51 feet to a 30 inch chestnut oak in a
fence; thence South 23° 44' 20" East 198.44 feet to a wood fence post; thence South 17°
58' 57" East 210. 99 feet to a % inch iron rod at a fence junction; thence South 66° 14'
50" West 76.34 feet to a spike in an oak snag; thence South 76° 25' 52" West 86.73 feet
to the point of Beginning, containing 2.60 acres, more or less, as shown on plat of survey
by Michael A. Ivy, Tennessee RLS No.1834, dated April 18, 1998, revised June 29,
1998. Description taken from previous deed of record. Being the same premises
conveyed to Cody James Keys, by deed from Smoky Mountain Treasure LLC, a
Tennessee limited liability company, dated November 5, 2021, of record in the Register's
Office of Cocke County, Tennessee in Record Book 1574, at Page 697.

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For further reference see Deed recorded on December 28, 2021, in the Register of Deeds
Office for Cocke County, Tennessee as Deed No. 2100645, in Book 1579, Pages 41-42.

Vehicle:

A 2020 Ford Fusion, VIN# 3FA6POD95LR133085, registered to Rescue Army Nation
Ministries, 680 Glades Road, Ste 7, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738.

Other Property:

a. A 2020 Salem 29VBUD Travel Trailer, VIN# 4X4TSME27LA326167, registered
to Sarrah Willhite, 680 Glades Road, Ste 7, Gatlinburg, Tennessee 37738; and

b. Cashier's Check in the amount of $6,068.74 remitted to U.S. Marshal Service.

If any of the property subject to forfeiture, as a result of any act or omission of a

defendant,
a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
b. has been transferred, sold to, or deposited with a third party;
6, has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the Court;
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or
6. has been commingled with other property that cannot be divided

without difficulty;

the United States of America shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title

21, United States Code, § 853(p), as incorporated by Title 28, United States Code, § 2461(c).

SIGNATURE REDACTED

FRANCIS M. HAMILTON III
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

William A. Roach, Jr.
Assistant United States Attorney

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