Information — U.S. v. Pierre, 0:21-cr-60288 (S.D. Fla.), Dkt. 1
Summary
An Information entered 10/06/2021 as Document 1 in Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD, Southern District of Florida, against defendant Luke Pierre Jr. It charges Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, alleging that in 2020 the defendant conspired with James Stote, Phillip J. Augustin, Individual 1 and Individual 2. It alleges that the PPP loan applications included falsified bank statements and payroll tax forms, and that kickbacks were paid for facilitating the loans. The Information also contains Forfeiture Allegations. Its listed overt acts include a PPP loan application requesting a loan in the amount of $414,675 based on a false representation of an average monthly payroll of $165,870.
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“Information — U.S. v. Pierre, 0:21-cr-60288 (S.D. Fla.), Dkt. 1.”
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Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 1 of 11
UN ITED STA TES DISTRICT CO UR T
SOUTHERN DISTRICT O F FLORIDA
casexo.21-60288-C R-D 1M ITR O U LEA S/SN O W
làlcs-c.j371
18U.S.C.j982
FILED BY AT D C.
.
UN ITED STATES OF AM ER IC A
V*. Oct 6,2021
,v# CIE,
..A c,uo sus
LUK E PIER RE JR., cu lRKus o's'r,
cT.
s o o,ht.k.. 1..11,
Defendant.
INFORM ATION
TheActing United StatesAttom ey chargesthat:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
Ata11tim esm aterialto thisInform ation:
The Pavcheck Protection Proeram
TheCoronavirusAid,RelietlandEconomicSecurity(<SCARES'')Actwasafederal
law enacted in orazound M arch 2020 and designed to provide em ergcncy financialassistancc to
the millions ofAmericans who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVlD-19
pandemic. Onesource ofreliefprovidedby the CARES Actwastheauthorization offorgivable
loanstosmallbusinessesforjobretcntionandcertainotherexpenses,throughaprogrnm referred
toasthePaycheckProtection Program (1çPPP'').
In orderto obtain aPPP loan,aqualifying businesssubm itted aPPP loan application,
which was signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan application
requircdthebusiness(throughitsauthorizedrepresentative)toacknowledgetheprogram rulesand
makccertain afûrm ativecertifkationsin orderto be eligibleto obtain thePPP loan. In the PPP
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 2 of 11
loanapplication(SmallBusinessAdministration(C1SBA'')Form 2483),thesmallbusiness(through
itsauthorizedrepresentative)wasrequiredtoprovide,amongotherthings,its:(a)averagemonthly
payrollexpenses;and (b)numberofemployees.Thesefigtlreswereusedtocalculatethenmount
ofm oney the sm all business was eligible to receive under the PPP. In addition,businesses
applyingforaPPPloanwererequiredtoprovidedocumentationconftrmingtheirpayrollexpenses.
3. A PPP loan application was processed by a participating lender. lf a PPP loan
application was approved,the participating lenderftmded the PPP loan using its own monies.
W hile itwasthe participating lenderthatissued the PPP loan,the loan was 100% gur anteed by
the SBA .Data from the application,including information aboutthe borrower,thetotalam ount
ofthe loan,and thelisted numbtrofemployees,wastransm itted by thelenderto the SBA in the
course ofprocessing the loan.
4. PPP loan proceedswere required to beused by the businesson certain perm issible
expenses- payrollcosts,intereston mortgages,rent,and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest
and principalon the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven ifthe businessspentthe loan proceeds on
theseexpense item swithin adesignatedperiod oftimeand used adefined portion ofthe PPP loatl
PCOCCCdSO11Payrollexpenses.
The D efendant,R elated E ntities and Individuals
M ostW antedBullyzLLC (tIM W B'')wasaFloridalimited liability companywith
itsregisteredprindpaloffice addressin Palm Beach County,Florida.
DefendantLUKE PIERRE JR.,a residentofPalm Beach Cotmty,Florida,was
the ChiefExecutive O fficerand registered agentofM W B .
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 3 of 11
B ank 1 was a tinancialinstitution based in SaltLake City,Utah,thatw as insured
bytheFederalDepositInsuranceCorporation(CûFDIC'').Barlk 1wasan approved SBA lenderof
PPP loans.
8. Bank Processor 1 was a third-party company processor,based in Redwood City,
California,thatprocessed PPP loan applicationsforBank 1.
JamesStotewasaresidentofBroward County,Florida.
Phillip J.Augustin wasa residentofBroward County,Florida.
Individual1wasaresidentofPalm Beach County,Florida.
lndividual2 wasaresidentofBroward County,Florida.
Conspiracv to C om m itW ire Fraud
(18U.S.C.j371)
Paragraphs 1 through 12 of the General Allegations of this lnformation are
realleged and incorporatedby referenceasthough fully setforth herein.
14. From on or aboutM ay 23,2020,through on or aboutJuly 30,2020,in Brow ard
County,in the Southern DistrictofFlorida,and elsewhere,thedefendant,
LU K E PIE RR E JR .,
didwillfully,thatis,withtheintenttoftzrthertheobjectoftheconspiracy,andknowinglycombine,
conspire,confederate,and agreewith JnmesStote,Phillip J.Augustin,lndividual1,Individual2,
and with othersknown and unknown to the Acting United StatesAttorney,to com mitan offense
againstthe United States,thatis,to know ingly,and w ith the intentto defraud,devise,and intend
to devise, a schem e and artifice to defraud,and to obtain m oney and property by m eans of
m aterially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and prom ises, know ing that the
pretenses,representations,and prom isesw erefalse and fraudulentwhen m ade,and,forthepurpose
ofexecutingtheschem eand artitk e,didknowinglytransm itandcausetobetransmitted,bym eans
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 4 of 11
of w ire com m unication in interstate com m erce, certain w ritings, signs, signals,pictures, and
sounds,in violation ofTitle 18,U nited StatesCode,Section 1343.
PU R PO SE O F TH E CO N SPIM CY
15. ltw as the purpose ofthe conspiracy for the defendantand his co-conspirators to
tmlawfully enrich themselvesby,nmongotherthings:(a)submitting and causing thesubmission
offalseandfraudulentapplicationsforPPP loansm adeavailablethroughtheSBA toproviderelief
fortheeconomiceffectscausedbytheCOVID-19pandemic;(b)offering,paying,andreceiving
kickbacksin return forrefening otherindividualsforthe submission offalse and fraudulentloan
applications;and (c)diverting fraud proceedsforthepersonaluseofthedefendantand hisco-
conspirators,the use and benefitofothers,and to furtherthe conspiracy.
M A NN ER A N D M EA N S O F TH E C O N SPIM CY
The nnanner and naeans by yvhich the defendant and his co-conspirators sought to
accom plish the purpose ofthe conspiracy included,am ong others,the follow ing:
16. LUK E PIERRE JR.,Jam esStote,Phillip J.Augustin,Individual1,lndividual2,
andotherco-conspiratorssubm ittedandcausedthesubmission offraudulentPPP loan applications
forM W B and otherentities,viainterstatewirecommtmications.
The PPP loan applications subm itted and caused to be submitted by LUKE
PIERRE ,IR., Jam es Stote, Phillip J. Augustin, Individual 1, lndividual 2, and other co-
conspirators forM W B and other entitiesincluded falsified barlk statem ents and payrolltax fonns,
among otherthings,and falsely and fraudulently represented the borrowing entities'numberof
em ployeesand am ountofm onthly payroll. LU K E PIE RR E JR .and otherco-conspirators paid
Jam esStote,Phillip J.Augustin,and otherco-conspiratorskickbacksin exchange forfacilitating
and obtaining fraudulentPPP loans.
4
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 5 of 11
18. A s a result ofthe false and fraudulentPPP loan applications subm itted aspartof
this scheme,Bank 1 and other participating banks disbursed m illions of dollars in PPP loan
proceeds,ofwhich approxim ately $414,675 resulting from a fraudulentloan subm itted on behalf
ofM W B wastransferredintoabank accountin thenameofM W B controlledby LUK E PIERRE
JR .
O VER T A CT S
ln furtherance ofthe conspiracy,and to accomplish its purpose,atleastone ofthe co-
conspirators com m itted and caused to be com m itted, in the Southern D istrid of Florida and
elsewhere,atleastoneofthefollowing overtacts,nmong others:
19. On oraboutM ay 21,2020,Individual1sentIndividual2 atextm essagecontaining
the nam e,social security num ber, date of birth, m ailing address,and em ail address of LU K E
PIERRE JR.,alongwith theTaxpayerldentificationNumber,bank account,androuting num ber
forM W B .
20. On or aboutM ay 21,2020,lndividual2 sentJam es Stote an em ailcontaining the
nnm e,socialsecurity number,dateofbirth,mailingaddress,andem ailaddressofLUK E PIERRE
JR.,alongwith theTaxpayerIdentificationNum ber,bank accotmt,and routingnumberforM W B.
21. On oraboutM ay 23,2020,Jam esStotecreated an onlineloan accountforLUKE
PIERR E JR .with Bank Processor 1.
22. On oraboutM ay 23,2020,LUK E PIERRE JR.electronically viewed and signed
a PPP loan application on behalfofM W B,which application waselectronically signed bearing
thename Ct ukePien'eJr.,''and requested a PPP loan forM W B in the nm ountof$414,675 based
on a false representation that M W B had 21 em ployees and an average m onthly payroll of
$165,870.
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 6 of 11
23. OnoraboutM ay27,2020,Bank 1wired $414,675intoabusinesscheckingaccount
ending in 8491held inthenameofM W B forwhich LUKE PIERRE JR.wasthe sole signer.
24. On or about M ay 28,2020,LU K E PIER RE JR .caused a w ire paym ent in the
am ountof$103,665 to be m ade from the M W B business checking accountending in 8491 to
Jam es Stote,the description ofw hich was CCREF STU D FEES.''
25. O n oraboutJune 8,2020,LU K E PIER RE JR .caused an online bank transfer of
$140,000 from the M W B business checking account ending in 8491 to PIERRE'S individual
checking accountending in 6847 in thenam eoflGlaukeD Pierre Jr.''
A llin violation ofTitle 18,U nited States Code,Section 371.
FO R FEITUR E A LLEG A TIO N S
26. The allegations contained in this lnform ation are hereby re-alleged and by this
reference fully incorporated herein for the purpose of alleging forfeiture to the United States of
certain property in w hich the defendant,LU K E PIER RE JR.,hasan interest.
Upon conviction ofa violation ofTitle 18,United StatesCode,Section 371,as
alleged in this lnform ation, the defendant shall forfeitto the United States any propeo
constituting,orderived from ,any proceedsthe defendantobtained,directly orindirectly,asthe
resultofsuchviolationpttrsuanttoTitle18,United StatesCode,Section 982(a)(2)(A).
28. lfanyoftheproperty subjecttoforfeiture,asaresultofany actoromissionofthe
defendant:
cannotbe located upon the exercise ofdue diligence;
b. hasbeen transferred orsold to,ordeposited with,athird party;
c. hasbeenplacedbeyondthejurisdictionofthecourt;
d. hasbeen substantially dim inished in value;or
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 7 of 11
e. hasbeen comm ingled with otherproperty which cnnnotbedivided withoutdifficulty,
the United States shallbe entitled to the forfeiture ofsubstitute property under the provisions of
Title21,UnitedStatesCode,Section853(p).
AllpursuanttoTitle18,UnitedStatesCode,Section982(a)(2)(A),andtheproceduresset
forth in Title21,United StatesCode,Section 853,asincorporatedby Title 18,United StatesCode,
Section982(b)(1).
X .
JUXW ANTO 10 GONZALEZ j SEPH S.BEE TERBOER
A CTm G UN ITED STA TES A TTORN EY A CTIN G CH IEF,FRAU D SECTION
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D D A .SN ID ER PH IP B.TR U T
A SSISTAN T U N ITED STA TES A TTORN EY TRIAL ATTORNEY,FRAUD SECTION
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 8 of 11
UNITED STATESDISTRICT CO URT
SO UTH ERN DISTRICT O FFLO RIDA
IJNITED STATESO FAM ERICA
V.
LUKE PIERRE JR. CERTIFICATE O F TRIA L A TTOR NEY.
Superseding CaseInformation:
Defendant/
Courtoivision:tselectOnel Newdefendantts) I--IYes I--INo
g-lMiami UllteyWest UZ FTL Numberofnewdefendants
F-IWPB F-1FTP Totalnumberofcounts
1.Ihavecarefully consideredtheallegationsoftheindictment,thenum berofdefendants,thenumberofproG ble
witnessesandthelegalcom plexitiesofthelndictm ent/lnformation attachedhereto.
1am awarethattheinform ationsupplied on thisstatem entwillberelied uponby theJudgesofthisCourtin
settingtheircalendarsand schedulingcrim inaltrialsunderthemandateoftheSpeedy TrialAct,
Title28U .S.C.Section 3161.
Interpreter:(YesorNo) No
Listlanguageand/ordialect
4.Thiscase willtake 0 daysforthepartiesto try.
5.Pleasecheck appropriatecategory and typeofoffenselistedbelow :
(Checkonlyone) (Checkonlyone)
I 0to5days Fz-l Petty F-1
11 6to10days g7I Minor r-l
lll l1to20days I7rl Misdemeanor F-l
IV 21to60days r71 Felony rz
-l
V 61daysandover (71
6.HasthiscaseprcviouslybeenfiledinthisDistrictCourt? (YesorNo) No
lfyes:Judge CaseNo.
(Attachcopyofdispositiveorder)
Hasacomplaintbeenfiledinthismatter? (YesorNo) No
Ifyes:M agistrateCase No.
Related miscellaneousnum bers:
Defendantts)infederalcustodyasof
Defendantts)instatecustodyasof
Rule20 from theDistrictof
Isthisapotentialdeathpenaltycase?(YesorNo) No
7. Doesthiscase originatefrom amatterpending in theCentralRegion oftheU.S.Attorney'sOffice priorto
August9,2013(Mag.JudgeAlicia0.Valle)?(YesorNo) No
8. Doesthiscase originatefrom amatterpendingin theNorthern Region oftheU.S.Attorney'sOffice priorto
August8,2014(Mag.JudgeShaniekMaynard?(YesorNo) No
9. Doesthiscase originatefrom amatterpending intheCentralRegionoftheU.S.Attorney'
sOffice priorto
October3,2019(Mag.JudgeJaredStrauss)?(YesorNo) No
m .a a .
David A.Snider
AssistantUnited States Attorney
Coud ID No. A5502260
*penaltySheetts)attachal REV 3/19/21
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 9 of 11
U NITED STATES D ISTRICT CO U RT
SO UTH ERN DISTR ICT O F FLO RIDA
PEN ALTY SH EET
D efendant'sN am e:LUK E PIER RE JR .
Case No.
Count# 1
Conspiracy to Com m itW ire Fraud
Title 18.United StatesCode,Section 37l
*M ax.Penaltv: Five(5)vears'imprisonm ent
*Refers only to possible term ofincarceration,does notinclude possible fines,restitution,
specialassessm ents,parole term s,or forfeiture thatm ay be applicable.
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 10 of 11
U N ITED STA T ES D ISTR IC T C O U R T
SO U TH ERN DISTRICT O F FLO RIDA
CA SE NU M BER :
BO ND R ECO M M EN DA TIO N
DEFEN DAN T: LUKE PIERRE JR.
$200,000 PersonalSuretyBond
(PersonalSurety)(CorporateSurety)(Cash)(Pre-TrialDetention)
By: & ' W.G ' /
A USA : DAVID A.SNIDER
LastKnow n A ddress: 333 Pine Street
W estPalm Beach,FL
33407
W hatFacility'
.
Agentts): FBIS/ATimothyAugustyniak
(FB1) (SECRET SERVICE) (DEA) (1RS) (1CE) (OTHER)
Case 0:21-cr-60288-WPD Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 10/06/2021 Page 11 of 11
AO 455(Rev,01/09)Waivcrofanlndictment
U NITED STATES D ISTRICT COURT
forthe
SouthernDistrictofFlorida
United StatesofAmerica )
V. ) CaseNo.
LUKE PIERRE JR ., ) 2l-60288-C R-D 1M ITRO U LEA S/LSS
)
Defendant )
W A W ER O F A N INDICTM ENT
IunderstandthatIhavebeenaccused ofone ormoreoffensespunishableby imprisonmentformorethanone
year. Iwasadvised inopencourtofmyrightsandthenatureoftheproposed chargesagainstme.
Afterreceivingthisadvice,Iwaivemy rightto prosecution by indictmentand consenttoprosecution by
information.
Defendanl'
.
rsi
gnature
Signatureofdefendantb'uttorney
Printednameofdefendant'
sattorney
Judge'
ssi
gnature
Lurana S.Snow,U.S.M aqistrateJudge
Judge'
sprinted nameandtitle
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