Factual Resume — U.S. v. Wajahat Khan, No. 3:23-cr-00252 (N.D. Tex.)

Summary

A Factual Resume in United States of America v. Wajahat Khan (04), No. 3:23-CR-252-K, Document 178, filed 11/04/24, in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, in support of Khan's plea of guilty to the offense in Count One of the indictment, charging Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1349 (18 U.S.C. § 1344(2)). Khan admits that from in or about March 2020 through in or about April 2023 Khan conspired with codefendants to obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans through false and fraudulent applications that inflated recycling companies' monthly payroll expenses. It states that a PPP application for Elephant Recycling submitted on or about April 8, 2020 falsely inflated payroll costs and that Elephant Recycling received $222,400 in PPP funds. Exhibit A lists PPP loans.

Summary drafted by a model from the document's text below 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. Page 5 of 6 is not shown because the text could not be recognized reliably.

Case 3:23-cr-00252-K Document178 Filed 11/04/24. Pageiof6 PagelD 491

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
DALLAS DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Vv.

WAJAHAT KHAN (04)

NO. 3:23-CR-252-K

FACTUAL RESUME

In support of Wajahat Khan’s plea of guilty to the offense in Count One of the

indictment, Wajahat Khan, the defendant, Suzy Vanegas, the defendant’s attorney, and

the United States of America (the government) stipulate and agree to the following:

ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE

To prove the offense alleged in Count One of
of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 (18 U.S.C. § 1344(2)), that is, C
the government must prove each of the following ele

First: That two or more persons made
as charged in the indictment;

the indictment, charging a violation
onspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud,
ments beyond a reasonable doubt:!

an agreement to commit bank fraud,

Second: That the defendant knew the unlawful purpose of the agreement; and

Third: That the defendant joined in the

agreement willfully, that is, with the

intent to further the unlawful purpose.

The elements of Bank Fraud, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2), are as follows:

First: That the defendant knowingly executed a scheme or artifice;

Second: That the scheme or artifice was executed to obtain monies or other
property from a financial institution, as alleged in the indictment;

' United States v. Martinez, 921 F.3d 452, 467 (Sth Cir. 2019).
? Fifth Circuit Pattern Jury Instruction 2.58B (Sth Cir. 2019).

Factual Resume—Page 1
Case 3:23-cr-00252-K Document178 Filed 11/04/24 Page2of6 PagelD 492

Third: That the scheme or artifice was executed by means of false or
fraudulent pretenses, false or fraudulent representations, or false or
fraudulent promises; and

Fourth: That the false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises
were material.

STIPULATED FACTS

1. Wajahat Khan admits and agrees that from in or about March 2020, through
in or about April 2023, in the Northern District of Texas and elsewhere, he knowingly
and willfully combined, conspired, confederated, and agreed with codefendants Mihir
Patel, Prateek Desai, Kinjal Patel, Imran Khan, Chirag Gandhi, Bhavesh Patel, Dharmesh
Patel, Mitra Bhattarai, and Bhargav Bhatt to knowingly execute and attempt to execute a
scheme and artifice to obtain any of the moneys, funds, credits, assets, securities, and
other property owned by, and under the custody and control of, a financial institution, the
deposits of which were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”),
by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2).

The Recycling Companies

2. Wajahat Khan agrees that Elephant Recycling, Inc. (“Elephant Recycling”)
and Gulf Coast Scrap, Inc. (“Gulf Coast Scrap”) were purported metal recycling

companies operating as a loosely affiliated group of entities.

[the remainder of this page left intentionally blank]

Factual Resume—Page 2
Case 3:23-cr-00252-K Document178 _ Filed 11/04/24 Page3of6 PagelD 493

The Paycheck Protection Program Fraud

cs Wajahat Khan agrees that the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”),
implemented by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”), was a COVID-19 relief
initiative that, among other things, provided small businesses with forgivable loans to pay
for payroll and certain other expenses. Under the PPP, participating third-party lenders
approved loan applications and disbursed PPP loans to qualifying businesses. Wajahat
Khan admits that he knew that to obtain a PPP loan, a business was required to submit a
PPP loan application to a lender. In the PPP loan application, the business was required
to state, among other things, the business’s average monthly payroll. This payroll
information was used to calculate the amount of funds that the business was eligible to
receive as a PPP loan.

4. Wajahat Khan agrees that American Bank, National Association
(“American Bank”) and Midwest Regional Bank were financial institutions, as defined in
18 U.S.C. § 20, whose deposits were insured by the FDIC. He agrees that American
Bank and Midwest Regional Bank participated in the PPP as lenders. He agrees that
Midwest Regional Bank was located in the Northern District of Texas.

5, Wajahat Khan admits that, from in or about March 2020, through in or
about April 2023, Wajahat Khan, conspiring with codefendants Mihir Patel, Prateek
Desai, Kinjal Patel, Imran Khan, Chirag Gandhi, Bhavesh Patel, Dharmesh Patel, Mitra
Bhattarai, and Bhargav Bhatt, obtained, and attempted to obtain, PPP loans on behalf of
various recycling companies and individuals by submitting, and causing to be submitted,

to several financial institutions false and fraudulent PPP loan applications.

Factual Resume—Page 3
Case 3:23-cr-00252-K Document178 Filed 11/04/24 Page4of6 PagelD 494

6. Specifically, Wajahat Khan admits that, in furtherance of the conspiracy, he
and his coconspirators prepared PPP loan applications that falsely inflated the recycling
companies’ monthly payroll expenses, and created fraudulent documentation, such as
payroll expense summary charts, to support these false applications. For instance,
Wajahat Khan admits that, on or about April 8, 2020, he and his codefendants Mihir
Patel, Mitra Bhattarai, Dharmesh Patel, Prateek Desai, Kinjal Patel, and Bhavesh Patel
prepared and caused to be submitted to Midwest Regional Bank a PPP loan application
on behalf of Elephant Recycling that falsely inflated the recycling company’s payroll
costs.

ys Wajahat Khan further admits that, as a result of this application’s materially
false and fraudulent representations, Midwestern Regional Bank provided Elephant
Recycling with $222,400 in PPP funds.

8. Wajahat Khan admits that, in furtherance of the conspiracy, he caused
financial institutions to fund the PPP loans identified in Exhibit A.

m, The defendant agrees that the defendant committed all the essential
elements of the offense. This factual resume is not intended to be a complete accounting
of all the facts and events related to the offense charged in this case. The limited purpose
of this statement of facts is to demonstrate that a factual basis exists to support the

defendant’s guilty plea to Count One of the indictment.

Factual Resume—Page 4
Case 3:23-cr-00252-K Document178 Filed 11/04/24 Page6of6 PagelD 496

EXHIBIT A

PPP Loan
Number
Midwest Regional Bank 4683297203
Midwest Regional Bank 4008408409
American Bank 5243578201
American Bank 4331308305

Financial Institution

Factual Resume—Page 6


File and source

File

178.pdf

Size

2,002,936 bytes

SHA-256

b2657cb2c9976d93a014c037b50867d29e6ade0517685f30bc5715a2bc352453

Our copy

178.pdf

Original

No public link identified.