Information — United States v. Jesus Acosta Perez (S.D. Tex.)

Summary

A criminal information in United States v. Jesus Acosta Perez, Criminal No. 4:21-cr-554, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division, filed November 19, 2021 as Document 1. Count One charges conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. § 371 to commit wire fraud from in or around April 2020 until in or around October 2020. The information alleges that PPP applications for Acosta Diesel Repair LLC and Shield Trucking LLC misstated employees and payroll and produced loans of approximately $187,500 and $203,800. It alleges that at the direction of Co-Conspirator 1, Perez wired approximately $93,750 to a company controlled by CC-1 and withdrew approximately $101,750 to buy approximately 15 cashier’s checks. The forfeiture notice states the United States will seek a money judgment.

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Cited in: Jesus Acosta Perez

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“Information — United States v. Jesus Acosta Perez (S.D. Tex.).” Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/court-filing-no-4-21-cr-00554-dkt-1-379d100662/, SHA-256 441a9f7d0f4527d036c19c617a4e10b8d5452a4a7597065877e48f61ed9c72fa.

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Case 4:21-cr-00554 Document 1 Filed on 11/19/21 in TXSD Page 1 of 6
United States Courts Southern
District of Texas
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 11/19/2021
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EĂƚŚĂŶKĐŚƐŶĞƌ, Clerk of Court
HOUSTON DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA §
§
v. § Criminal No. 4:21-cr-554
§
JESUS ACOSTA PEREZ, §
§
Defendant. §

INFORMATION

THE UNITED STATES CHARGES:

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS

At all times material to this Information:

The Paycheck Protection Program

1. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a federal

law enacted in or around March 2020 and designed to provide emergency financial assistance to

the millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19

pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable

loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred

to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”).

2. In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business submitted a PPP loan application,

which was 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 (Small Business Administration (“SBA”) Form 2483), the small business (through

its authorized representative) was required to provide, among other things, its: (a) average monthly
Case 4:21-cr-00554 Document 1 Filed on 11/19/21 in TXSD Page 2 of 6

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 confirming their payroll expenses.

3. A PPP loan application was processed by a participating lender. If a PPP loan

application was approved, the participating lender funded the PPP loan using its own monies.

While it was the participating lender that issued the PPP loan, the loan was 100% guaranteed by

the SBA. Data from the application, including information about the borrower, the total amount

of the loan, and the listed number of employees, was transmitted by the lender to the SBA in the

course of processing the loan.

4. PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by the business on certain permissible

expenses—payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest

and principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on

these expense items within a designated period of time and used a defined portion of the PPP loan

proceeds on payroll expenses.

The Defendant, Related Entities and Individuals

5. Defendant JESUS ACOSTA PEREZ (“PEREZ”) was a resident of Houston, Texas

and was the owner of Acosta Diesel Repair LLC (“ADR”), a Texas Limited Liability Company,

and Shield Trucking LLC (“Shield”), a Texas Limited Liability Company.

6. Co-Conspirator 1 (“CC-1”) was a resident of Richmond, Texas.

COUNT ONE
(18 U.S.C. § 371 - Conspiracy)

7. Paragraphs 1 through 6 of this Information are re-alleged and incorporated by

reference as though fully set forth herein.

2
Case 4:21-cr-00554 Document 1 Filed on 11/19/21 in TXSD Page 3 of 6

8. Beginning in or around April 2020, and continuing until in or around October 2020,

in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas, and elsewhere, the defendant,

JESUS ACOSTA PEREZ

knowingly and willfully, that is, with the intent to further the objects of the conspiracy, conspired

and agreed with CC-1 and other individuals, known and unknown to the United States, to commit

certain offenses against the United States, namely: to knowingly and intentionally devise a scheme

and artifice to defraud and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and

fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and to transmit and cause to be transmitted,

by means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce, writings, signs, signals,

pictures, and sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice to defraud, in violation

of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

PURPOSE OF THE CONSPIRACY

9. It was the purpose of the conspiracy for PEREZ and his co-conspirators to

unlawfully enrich themselves by, among other things: (a) submitting and causing the submission

of false and fraudulent applications for PPP loans and (b) laundering the proceeds from the PPP

loans in order to conceal and disguise the true nature and source of the loan proceeds.

MANNER AND MEANS OF THE CONSPIRACY

10. The manner and means by which PEREZ and his co-conspirators sought to

accomplish the objects and purpose of the conspiracy included, among others, the following:

11. As part of the scheme, CC-1 informed PEREZ that CC-1 knew an accountant who

could obtain government loans on behalf of PEREZ’s companies, ADR and Shield. PEREZ

provided CC-1 with information about his companies in order to obtain the loans.

3
Case 4:21-cr-00554 Document 1 Filed on 11/19/21 in TXSD Page 4 of 6

12. In furtherance of the scheme, PEREZ and his co-conspirators applied for a PPP loan

on behalf ADR. The PPP loan application contained false and fraudulent representations as to

ADR’s number of employees and average monthly payroll. The false and fraudulent PPP loan

application on behalf of ADR was submitted via interstate wires to a participating SBA approved

lender that authorized a PPP loan in the amount of approximately $187,500. The $187,500 in PPP

loan funds was deposited into a bank account in the name of ADR.

13. Upon receipt of the PPP loan funds for ADR, PEREZ, at CC-1’s direction, wired

approximately $93,750 in PPP loan proceeds from the ADR account to an account in the name of

a company under the control of CC-1.

14. As part of the scheme, co-conspirators applied for a PPP loan application on behalf

Shield. The PPP loan application contained false and fraudulent representations as to Shield’s

number of employees and average monthly payroll. The false and fraudulent PPP loan application

on behalf of Shield was submitted to a participating SBA approved lender that authorized a PPP

loan in the amount of approximately $203,800. The $203,800 in PPP loan funds was deposited

via interstate wires into a bank account in the name of Shield.

15. Upon receipt of the PPP loan funds for Shield, PEREZ, at CC-1’s direction, withdrew

approximately $101,750 in PPP loan proceeds from the Shield account and used those proceeds to

purchase approximately 15 Cashier’s checks. PEREZ, at CC-1’s direction, made the Cashier’s

checks payable to different individuals who PEREZ did not know and provided those Cashier’s

checks to CC-1.

OVERT ACTS

16. In furtherance of the conspiracy, and to accomplish its objects and purpose, at least

one of the co-conspirators committed and caused to be committed, in the Houston Division of the

4
Case 4:21-cr-00554 Document 1 Filed on 11/19/21 in TXSD Page 5 of 6

Southern District of Texas and elsewhere, at least one of the following overt acts, among others:

17. On or about June 18, 2020, a PPP loan application on behalf of ADR seeking

approximately $187,500 in PPP loan funds was submitted to an SBA approved lender.

18. On or about August 5, 2020, PPP loans funds in the amount of $203,800 were

deposited into a bank account in the name of Shield.

19. On or about August 7, 2020, PEREZ withdrew approximately $101,750 in PPP

loan funds from the Shield account and purchased 15 Cashier’s checks.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.

5
Case 4:21-cr-00554 Document 1 Filed on 11/19/21 in TXSD Page 6 of 6

NOTICE OF CRIMINAL FORFEITURE
(18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C); 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c))

20. Pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C), and Title 28, United

States Code, Section 2461(c), the United States gives notice that upon the defendant’s conviction

of Count One of this Information, the United States will seek forfeiture of all property, real or

personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the conspiracy.

21. The United States also gives notice that it will seek a money judgment against the

defendant.

22. In the event that one or more conditions listed in Title 21, United States Code,

Section 853(p) exist, the United States will seek to forfeit any other property of the defendant up

to the amount of the money judgment.

Jennifer Lowery Joseph S. Beemsterboer
Acting United States Attorney Acting Chief, Fraud Section
Southern District of Texas Criminal Division
U.S. Department of Justice

By: __________________________ ___________________________
Rodolfo Ramirez Della Sentilles
Assistant United States Attorney Louis Manzo
Southern District of Texas Trial Attorneys
RRamirez3@usa.doj.gov Criminal Division, Fraud Section
(713) 314-6024 Della.Sentilles@usdoj.gov
(202) 445-8793 (Sentilles)

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