Bill of Indictment — U.S. v. Ashley Nicole Cross (W.D.N.C.)

Summary

A bill of indictment in United States v. Ashley Nicole Cross, Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR, in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, Charlotte Division, filed September 19, 2023 as Document 1. It lists violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1035, § 1343, § 1347, § 1349 and § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i). The indictment alleges that Cross, Chief Executive Officer of Odyssey Health Group, defrauded the South Carolina Medicaid Program of at least $400,000 by billing for services not performed, and made false statements to an investigator for Select Health of South Carolina during an audit. It also alleges that from on or about April 3, 2020 Cross obtained more than $120,000 in COVID relief funds through PPP loans for Odyssey Health Group and a business owned by Coconspirator A. The forfeiture section seeks a money judgment of at least $526,000.

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

Full text

Text recognized from a scanned document; may contain errors.

FILED
CHARLOTTE, NC

SEP 19 2023
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE Us pIsTRICT Court
WESTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA _ WESTERN DISTRICT OF NC
CHARLOTTE DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA , DOCKET NO. 3:23-cr-198-EDW
BILL OF INDICTMENT
Vv.
) Violations: 18 U.S.C. § 1035
(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS ) 18 U.S.C. § 1343
) 18 U.S.C. § 1347
) 18 U.S.C. § 1349
18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i)
)
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:

At the specified times and at all relevant times:

INTRODUCTION

1. Beginning no later than March 1, 2016, and continuing through on or about December _
31, 2021, ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS (CROSS), defendant herein, devised and executed
a scheme to defraud the South Carolina Medicaid Program (SC Medicaid) of at least

. $400,000 by misusing Medicaid beneficiary personal identifying information (PII) to
~ create false and fraudulent reimbursement claims for services that were not performed.

CROSS paid a person known to the Grand Jury as Individual #1 to obtain the names and
personal identifying information (PID) of persons eligible for Medicaid services. CROSS
also made false statements and directed employees of her company, Odyssey Health
Group (OHG), to create fictitious patient clinical notes which she submitted to healthcare
benefit programs in order to cover-up OHG’s fraudulent claims for services that were not
performed.

2. Beginning on or about April 3, 2020, and continuing through on or about May 14, 2022,
CROSS devised and executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection
Program (PPP) loans on behalf OHG and a business owned by a person known to the
Grand Jury as Coconspirator A. As a result of the fraudulent PPP loan applications and
supporting documents, CROSS obtained more than $120,000 in COVID relief funds for
herself and Coconspirator A. .

Relevant Individuals and Entities:

3. CROSS was the Chief Executive Officer of OHG, an outpatient behavioral health
services provider whose principal offices were located in Charlotte, North Carolina.
OHG was enrolled as a rehabilitative behavioral health services (RBHS) provider with
the South Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (SCDHHS) under a

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 1 of 13 |
program in which South Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries could choose qualified
providers within the South Carolina Medical Service area. The South Carolina Medical
Service area included providers in North Carolina located within 25 miles of the South
Carolina state border.

CROSS was an Independent Social Worker-Clinical Practice (LISW-CP) licensed by the
South Carolina Board of Social Work Examiners. CROSS was enrolled with SCDHHS
as a RBHS provider, which included LISW-CPs with a master’s degree from a board
approved social work program. As part of her SCDHHS enrollment, CROSS was
required to know and follow procedures for submitting RBHS claims to SC Medicaid.
CROSS was also enrolled as RBHS with South Carolina managed care organizations
(MCOs), including Select Health of South Carolina (Select); Molina Community Health
Solutions (Molina), Absolute Total Care (ATC), Bluechoice Healthplan of South
Carolina (Bluechoice), and Wellcare of South Carolina (Wellcare).

CROSS and OHG employed persons known to the Grand Jury to submit claims for
payment to SCDHHS and its MCOs, CROSS also employed persons known to the Grand
Jury to prepare clinical service notes documenting the services that OHG provided to
South Carolina Medicaid beneficiaries. CROSS directed the work of OHG billers and
note preparers, including their submission of claims for services not performed and the
creation of fictitious clinical service notes to cover up OHG’s fraudulent Medicaid
claims.

Individual #1 worked in South Carolina with non-profit organizations that provided
Medicaid targeted case management (MTCM) services to underprivileged families. SC
Medicaid reimbursed qualified providers for MTCM services, which included time spent
helping certain high-risk Medicaid beneficiaries gain access to medical, clinical, social
and educational services. Individual #1 had access to certain providers’ lists of MTCM
clients’ Medicaid numbers and other PII, which lists she sold to CROSS in exchange for

a fee paid by OHG for each eligible Medicaid beneficiary. CROSS used Individual #1’s
lists to bill SC Medicaid for RBHS.

ASAP Tax Express, Inc. (ASAP) was a tax preparation business controlled by CROSS
with its principal place of business in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Coconspirator A, an unindicted coconspirator herein, was CROSS’s boyfriend, who at.
pertinent times listed his home address at the luxury apartment leased by CROSS in
Uptown Charlotte. Coconspirator A was the owner and CEO of Gucci International Inc.
(Gucci), a North Carolina corporation purportedly in the “event planning” business.
Gucci listed the same Charlotte, North Carolina business address as ASAP.

Coconspirator A was a named defendant in an indictment filed in the District of South
Carolina on August 13, 2019. Conspirator A later pled guilty to a charge in the
Indictment and reported to the Bureau of Prisons to serve a 60-month term of
imprisonment on or about February 10, 2021.

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 2 of 13
10.

SOUTH CAROLINA’S MEDICAID PROGRAM

SC Medicaid was a health care program that provided health coverage to over 1.3 South
Carolinians, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly
adults and people with disabilities. SC Medicaid was administered by SCDHHS,
according to federal requirements. The program was jointly funded by South Carolina
and the federal government. SC Medicaid operated, in relevant part, as follows:

a, SC Medicaid helped pay for reasonable and medically necessary services for
qualifying, enrolled individuals and their families (referred to herein as
“beneficiaries.”) Covered benefits included RBHS.

b. SC Medicaid oversaw mental health providers throughout the state and within the
South Carolina Service area who received payments from SC Medicaid. The SC
Medicaid system included both traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicaid and
contracted MCOs.

c, MCOs contracted with SCDHHS to provide Medicaid health benefits and
additional services for a set per member per month (capitation) payment. MCO
plans were required to provide eligible Medicaid beneficiaries with medically
necessary care for all contracted services, including RBHS. Providers also must
have enrolled with each MCO to provide services to that MCO’s members. SC
Medicaid beneficiaries could choose from a list of MCOs. Providers then
submitted claims for services to the MCO that covered that beneficiary. .OHG
fraudulently billed several MCOs, including Select, Molina, ATC, Bluechoice,
and Wellcare.

d. Qualified individuals could enroll as SC Medicaid beneficiaries. At the time of
enrollment, a beneficiary received a unique alphanumeric code issued by the
program, known as a SC Medicaid identification number (MIN). Beneficiaries
used their MINs to receive covered services.

e@ SC Medicaid beneficiaries received services from medical practitioners (referred
to herein as “rendering providers”) and companies (referred to herein as “billing
providers”), Rendering providers and billing providers had to obtain a federal
identification number, known as a National Provider Identifier (NPI number). All
SC Medicaid rendering providers and billing providers had to certify that they
would only bill SC Medicaid for medically necessary services they actually
perform.

f. Each claim submitted to SC Medicaid had to identify a diagnosis code and a
billing code. Providers used a standardized billing coding system established by
the American Medical Association (AMA) known as the Current Procedure
Terminology (CPT) to describe services performed by a qualified professional.
Another set of medical codes known as the Healthcare Common Procedure
Coding System (HCPCS) was used to describe medical procedures, supplies,
products and services not included in CPT codes. .

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 3 of 13
11.

12.

13.

14.

15,

16.

17.

g. Each type of service had its own maximum number of units billable per
beneficiary per day. Modifiers were codes that described how services were
provided and how much to pay for those services. Common modifiers included
codes for how many times a service was done, what setting it was done in, what
type of professional did it, and what device or approach was used.

SC Medicaid and its MCOs were “health care benefit programs,” as defined in Title 18,
United States Code, Section 24(b).

CROSS’S SCHEME TO DEFRAUD SC MEDICAID

CROSS would obtain the PII of SC Medicaid beneficiaries from Individual #1 and other
sources. CROSS would cause OHG to file claims for reimbursement with SC Medicaid
and its MCOs for RBHS purportedly provided to Medicaid beneficiaries that she and
others recruited for OHG.

Individual #1 would provide CROSS with spreadsheets with Medicaid beneficiary PII.
OHG would use these lists to bill SC Medicaid for RBHS codes that were not provided,
including claims backdated from the initial date of service. CROSS would pay Individual
#1 for each name on the list that qualified for Medicaid services provided by OHG.

From on or about March 2, 2016, through on or about May 11, 2021, CROSS caused
OHG to pay Individual #1 more than $18,000 for marketing OHG to Medicaid
beneficiaries and for lists of Medicaid beneficiary names and PII obtained from
Individual #1’s MTCM clients.

From on or about January 2, 2017, through on or about August 25, 2022, CROSS caused
OHG to bill SC Medicaid and its MCOs more than $1.3 million, of which at least
$400,000 was for Medicaid beneficiaries who received no services from CROSS or OHG
or fewer and different services than claimed by CROSS or OHG.

FALSE STATEMENTS RELATING TO A HEALTH CARE MATTER

In and around September 2019, Select attempted to conduct an onsite audit of medical
records at OHG’s Charlotte office, but the office was closed. When contacted by
telephone, CROSS stated she was out of town, but agreed to cooperate in Select’s audit.
Select’s investigator sent an email and letter to CROSS requiring her to produce certain
accreditation documentation and the medical records of 41 specified Medicaid patients
purportedly treated by OHG. CROSS subsequently sent Select’s investigator patient
clinical notes for 41 OHG clients by email.

Dozens of the patient clinical notes sent by CROSS to Select were “cloned” and/or
contained inconsistencies and clearly erroneous information. For example, clinical notes
for multiple OHG clients were substantially identical except for the name of the client,
dates and place of service, and diagnosis. One of the notes stated the client—who was 4
years old at the time of the session—was able to read a skills training worksheet and
“identify triggers.” Another stated that the therapist discussed with the client—who was

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 4 of 13
18,

19,

20,

21,

22,

23.

24,

6 years old at the time—“that teens respond to conflict in many ways.” Another client
who was three years old “was able to read from [a] worksheet ... cease all temper
tantrums and gain self-control.” Some notes referred to the patient with the wrong name
in the narrative—i.e., a name that did not correspond with the heading on the record.
Other notes referred to group therapy provided in individual sessions.

CROSS signed each of the notes provided to the Select investigator. Moreover, CROSS
knew the notes she provided to Select were fake. For example, CROSS had previously
directed an employee to “make sure [another employee] knows which clients are adults
versus kids. All adults have a depression diagnosis so their notes should focus on that.
All kids have anger goals. So let me know if she need help. I don’t want her having to
redo notes.”

On or about October 8, 2019, Select’s investigator interviewed CROSS by telephone.
CROSS who was in Charlotte, North Carolina, answered with many material
misrepresentations, including the following.

Investigator: Do any of your employees go out into the
community to recruit clients?

CROSS: No

CROSS knew that her statement to Select’s investigator was false because she had paid
Individual #1 to solicit clients in community libraries and for lists of Medicaid
beneficiary names and PII from Individual #1.

The false clinical notes and statements made and submitted by CROSS to Select were
material to Select who was contracted with SCDHHS to implement a program to prevent .
fraud, waste, and abuse of Medicaid funds.

THE MONEY LAUNDERING SCHEME

CROSS received and accepted payment from SC Medicaid and its MCOs through
electronic funds transfers into SunTrust Bank account number ending in 1929 (SunTrust
account #1929) and JP Morgan Chase account number ending in 9252 (Chase account
#9252), both held in the name of OHG. CROSS was the only signatory on OHG’s bank
accounts. CROSS opened OHG’s bank accounts in Charlotte, North Carolina.-

From on or about December 14, 2016, through on or about January 25, 2022, CROSS
caused SC Medicaid and its MCOs to electronically deposit payments for false claims
into SunTrust account #1929 and Chase account #9252 in the approximate amount of
$404,000, which funds were comingled with other deposits into OHG’s bank accounts.

In total, OHG received at least $404,000 in fraudulent payments from SC Medicaid and
its MCOs constituting the proceeds of CROSS’s scheme to defraud SC Medicaid as
described above. .

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document 1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 5 of 13
25.

26.

27,

28.

29,

30.

31.

CROSS used comingled criminal proceeds from OHG’s SunTrust and Chase accounts to
pay expenses necessary to keep OHG operational, to bill SC Medicaid for future false
claims, and to pay Individual #1 for Medicaid beneficiary names and PII.

From on or about August 17, 2018, through on or about March 11, 2022, CROSS
withdrew over $500,000 from OHG’s bank accounts in untraceable cash. CROSS also
spent approximately $267,000 on shopping and entertainment and $249,000 in rent for
luxury apartments in Uptown Charlotte from OHG bank accounts with comingled
proceeds from her Medicaid fraud scheme.

COVID RELIEF PROGRAMS:

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was a federal law
enacted on or about March 27, 2020, and designed to provide emergency financial
assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects caused
by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act established several new temporary
programs and provided for the expansion of others, including programs created and/or
administered by the Small Business Administration (SBA), to administer the emergency
relief.

PPP was a COVID-19 pandemic relief program administered by the SBA that provided
forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses. The
PPP permitted participating third-party lenders to approve and disburse SBA-backed PPP
loans to cover payroll, fixed debts, utilities, rent/mortgage, accounts payable and other
bills incurred by qualifying businesses during, and resulting from, the COVID-19
pandemic. PPP loans were fully guaranteed by the SBA.

In order to obtain a PPP loan; a qualifying business must have submitted 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 make certain affirmative certifications in order to be eligible to
obtain the PPP loan. In the PPP loan application (SBA Form 2483), the small business
(through its authorized representative) must have stated, among other things, its: (a)
average monthly payroll expenses; and (b) number of employees. These figures were
used to calculate the amount of money the small business was eligible to receive under
the PPP. In addition, businesses applying for a PPP loan were required to provide
documentation showing their payroll expenses, such as their prior year tax returns.

PPP loan applications were electronically submitted or caused to. be submitted by the
borrower and received through SBA servers located in Oregon or Virginia. Once
approved, the business received the PPP loan proceeds via an electronic funds transfer
from the third-party lender to a financial account under the control of the business.

The proceeds of a PPP loan could be used for certain specified items, such as payroll

costs, costs related to the continuation of group health care benefits, or mortgage interest
payments. The proceeds of a PPP loan were not permitted to be used by the borrowers to
purchase consumer goods, automobiles, personal residences, clothing, jewelry, to pay the

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document 1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 6 of 13
32,

33,

34.

35,

36.

borrower’s personal federal income taxes, or to fund the borrower’s ordinary day-to-day
living expenses unrelated to the specified authorized expenses. The PPP allowed the
interest and principal on PPP loans to be entirely forgiven if the business spent the loan
proceeds on eligible expenses within a designated period and used a defined portion of
the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.

The following lenders, among others, funded PPP loans:

a. Itria Ventures, LLC (Itria) was a financial services company that utilized a loan
application portal in the state of New York, as part of conducting nationwide
business operations.

b. Customers Bank was a federally insured financial institution located in
Pennsylvania.

Between on or about April 3, 2020, and continuing through on or about May 14, 2022,
CROSS engaged in a scheme to defraud the SBA and SBA-approved lenders to unjustly
enrich herself and Coconspirator A by obtaining COVID relief funds by means of
materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.

It was part of the scheme that CROSS knowingly submitted, and caused to be submitted,
PPP loan applications and supporting documents for OHG that contained materially false
statements and misrepresentations regarding OHG’s businesses’ income, gross revenues,
expenses, and number of employees, and caused more than $70,000 in fraudulently
obtained relief funds to be disbursed to bank accounts she controlled.

It was part of the scheme that CROSS knowingly submitted, and caused to be submitted,
PPP loan applications and supporting documents for Gucci that contained materially false
statements and misrepresentations regarding Gucci’s income, gross revenues, expenses,
and number of employees, and that Coconspirator A was not the subject of an indictment.
CROSS also called the company processing Gucci’s PPP loan falsely stating that she was
Coconspirator A’s wife and that Coconspirator A was not able to speak because he was
driving, when in fact Coconspirator A was then in federal prison. CROSS and
Coconspirator A caused more than $52,000 in fraudulently obtained relief funds to be
disbursed to bank accounts that Coconspirator A controlled.

COUNTS ONE THROUGH NINE
18 U.S.C. § 1347
(Health Care Fraud)

The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations
contained in paragraphs 1, 3 through 6, and 10 through 21 of this Bill of Indictment and
further alleges that:

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 7 of 13
37.

On or about the dates listed below for each of Counts One through Nine, within
Mecklenburg County, in the Western District of North Carolina, and elsewhere, the
defendant,

(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS

_ did knowingly and willfully devise and intend to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud

and to obtain by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and
promises, money owned by and under the custody and control of SC Medicaid and its
MCOs, in connection with the delivery of, and payment for, healthcare benefits, items
and services by submitting and causing to be submitted false and fraudulent claims to SC
Medicaid and its MCOs for the payment of RBHS purportedly provided to the SC
Medicaid beneficiaries listed below, as stated in OHG’s claims:

Count Medicaid Entity Claimed Dates of Dates False Claims
Beneficiary Billed Service Submitted
ONE MAL Molina 9/25/2018 10/23/2018
through through
12/20/2018 1/15/2019
TWO ANT Select 12/21/2018 1/3/2019
through through
2/16/2021 11/19/2021
THREE JAD Select - © 4/26/2019 5/9/2019
through through
4/25/2020 5/4/2020
FOUR SLJ Select 4/24/2019 5/2/2019
through through
9/28/2019 10/4/2019
FIVE ODC Select 5/8/2019 5/21/2019
through Through
9/28/2019 10/4/2019
SIX LB Molina 11/18/2019 12/17/2019
through Through
4/23/2020 5/5/2020
SEVEN MDI Select & 9/26/2018 10/9/2018
Molina through through
' 7/10/2019 8/6/2019
EIGHT ASP Select 11/21/2019 12/17/2019
through through
2/13/2021 2/22/2021
NINE KOF ATC 12/17/2019 1/7/2020
through through
1/23/2020 2/1/2020

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1347.

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 8 of 13
38.

39.

40.

41,

COUNT TEN
18 U.S.C. § 1035
(False Writings Relating to a Healthcare Matter)

The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations
contained in paragraphs 1, 3 through 6, and 10 through 21 of this Bill of Indictment and
further alleges that:

Beginning on or about October 1, 2019, and continuing through on or about October 2,
2019, in Mecklenburg County, with the Western District of North Carolina, and
elsewhere, the defendant,

(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS

did knowingly and willfully make and use materially false writings and documents to wit:
fictitious and false patient clinical notes, knowing the same to contain materially false,
fictitious, and fraudulent statements and entries, in connection with the delivery of and
payment for health care benefits, items, and services involving Select and SC Medicaid,
health care benefit programs as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 24(b).

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1035(a)(2) and 2.
COUNT ELEVEN

18 U.S.C. § 1035
(False Statements Relating to a Healthcare Matter)

The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations
contained in paragraphs 1, 3 through 6, and 10 through 21 of this Bill of Indictment and
further alleges that:

On or about October 8, 2019, in Mecklenburg County, with the Western District of North
Carolina, and elsewhere, the defendant,

(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS
did knowingly and willfully make a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement
and representations, to Select’s investigator as described above, in connection with the
delivery of and payment for health care benefits, items, and services involving Select and
SC Medicaid, health care benefit programs as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 24(b).

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1035(a)(2) and 2.

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 9 of 13
42.

43,

44,

COUNTS TWELVE and THIRTEEN
18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)@
(Promotion Money Laundering)

The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations
contained in paragraphs 1, 3 through 6, 10 through 26 of this Bill of Indictment and
further alleges that:

On or about the dates listed below for each of Counts Twelve and Thirteen, within
Mecklenburg County, in the Western District of North Carolina, and elsewhere, the
defendant,

(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS,

aided and abetted by others known and unknown to the grand jury, did knowingly
conduct, attempt to conduct, and cause others to conduct, the following financial
transactions affecting interstate and foreign commerce, which involved the proceeds of a
specified unlawful activity, that is, health care fraud in violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Section 1347; knowing that the transactions were designed in whole and in part to
promote the carrying on of a specified unlawful activity, and that while conducting and
attempting to conduct such financial transactions knew that the property involved in the
financial transactions represented the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, each
transaction constituting a separate Count:

Count Transaction Amount Description
Date
TWELVE 5/3/2019 $1,500 | ADP Direct Deposit Checking Acct.

No, XXXXXX5667

THIRTEEN 5/31/2019 $315 | Check Card Purchase TR Date 05/30
SQC Darlene Tate XXXXXX3176 CA
from SunTrust Account # 1929

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(A)() and 2.

COUNT FOURTEEN
18 U.S.C. § 1343
(Wire Fraud)

The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations
contained in paragraphs 2 through 3, 7 through 9, and 27 through 34 of this Bill of
Indictment, and further alleges that:

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 10 of 13.
45.

46.

47,

48.

On or about February 26, 2021, in Mecklenburg, in the Western District of North
Carolina, and elsewhere, the defendant,

(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS

aided and abetted by others known and unknown to the Grand Jury, for the purpose of
executing and attempting to execute a scheme to defraud financial services companies —
administering the PPP loan program and to obtain money from said companies and the
SBA, did knowingly cause to be transmitted by wire communication in interstate
commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds, that is, the electronic transfer of
approximately $70,047, the proceeds of a PPP loan, from Itria’s bank accounts in the
state of New York, to OHG’s bank account in Charlotte, North Carolina.

All in violation of title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
COUNT FIFTEEN

18 U.S.C. § 1349
(Wire Fraud Conspiracy)

The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations
contained in paragraphs 2, 7 through 9, and 27 through 35 of this Bill of Indictment, and
further alleges that:

Beginning no later than April 3, 2020, and continuing through on or about May 14, 2022,
in Mecklenburg, in the Western District of North Carolina, and elsewhere, the defendant,

(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS
did knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, and agree with Coconspirator A and other
persons known and unknown to the Grand Jury to commit wire fraud in violation of Title

18, United States Code, Section 1343.

MANNER AND MEANS

The conspirators carried out the conspiracy through the manner and means described
above in the Introduction of this Bill of Indictment, among others.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.
COUNT SIXTEEN

18 U.S.C. § 1343
(Wire Fraud Affecting a Financial Institution)

The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference herein all of the allegations
contained in paragraphs 2, 7 through 9, and 27 through 35 of this Bill of Indictment, and ©
further alleges that:

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 11 of 13
49,

50.

On or about June 16, 2020, in Mecklenburg, in the Western District of North Carolina,
and elsewhere, the defendant,

(1) ASHLEY NICOLE CROSS

aiding and abetting Coconspirator A and others known and unknown to the Grand Jury,
for the purpose of executing and attempting to execute a scheme to defraud financial
services companies administering the PPP loan program and to obtain money from said
companies and the SBA, did knowingly cause to be transmitted by wire communication
in interstate commerce, writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds, that is,
approximately $52,234 from and affecting Customers Bank, a federally insured financial
institution in the state of Pennsylvania, to Gucci’s bank account in Charlotte, North
Carolina.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code Section 1343.

NOTICE OF FORFEITURE AND FINDING OF PROBABLE CAUSE

Notice is hereby given of 18 U.S.C. § 982 and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c). Under Section
2461(c), criminal forfeiture is applicable to any offenses for which forfeiture is
authorized by any other statute, including but not limited to 18 U.S.C. § 981 and all
specified unlawful activities listed or referenced in 18 U.S.C. § 1956(c)(7), which are
incorporated as to proceeds by Section 981(a)(1)(C). The following property is subject to
forfeiture in accordance with Section 982 and/or 2461(c):

a. All property which constitutes or is derived from proceeds of the violations set
forth in this Bill of Indictment;

b. All property involved in the violations or traceable to property involved the
violations alleged in Counts Twelve and Thirteen of this Bill of Indictment;
and

C. If, as set forth in 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), any property described in (a) or (b)
cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence, has been transferred or
sold to, or deposited with, a third party, has been placed beyond the
jurisdiction of the court, has been substantially diminished in value, or has
been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without
difficulty, all other property of the defendant/s to the extent of the value of the
property described in (a) and (b).

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 12 of 13
51. The Grand Jury finds probable cause to believe that the following property is subject to
forfeiture on one or more of the grounds stated above: a forfeiture money judgment in the
amount of at least $526,000, such amount constituting the proceeds of the violations set
forth in this Bill of Indictment.

A TRUE BILL

GRAND FURY FOREPERSON

DENA J. KING
“ STATES ATTORNEY

Wichael E. Savage
Assistant United States Attorney

Case 3:23-cr-00198-FDW-SCR Document1 Filed 09/19/23 Page 13 of 13


File and source

File

1.pdf

Size

881,791 bytes

SHA-256

dfb2b648ea041c86bff4da33876b729f1759cf932159cfd8ba3c612251b4de09

Our copy

1.pdf

Original

archive.org