Criminal Information — United States v. Mark A. Stewart (Northern District of Georgia)
Summary
Criminal information, No. 1:20-CR-00319, against Mark Stewart in the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division. Count One charges conspiracy, in or about May 2020, and Count Two charges false statements concerning an SBA Form 2483 signed on or about May 11, 2020. The information alleges that a PPP loan application package requesting $300,000 for The Infinity Group of SC, LLC was submitted to Bank 1, with a Form 941 representing 16 employees and $358,819.00 in compensation in each quarter of 2019. It alleges that Bank 1 wired approximately $300,000 on or about May 13, 2020, and that Stewart signed approximately 28 checks drawn on the business account. The forfeiture allegation lists $50,334.60 seized from a TD Bank account.
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
Cite this document
“Criminal Information — United States v. Mark A. Stewart (Northern District of Georgia).”
Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/crim-gand-1-20-cr-00319-u-s-v-mark-a-stewart-docx-information-d949d9e8ac/
, SHA-256 094cfd1654968c2e3572af9e4183b50c3f30e066e67bdbd76ba1114cc14e71d0.Full text
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
ATLANTA DIVISION
U NITED S TATES OF A MERICA
Criminal Information
v.
No. 1:20-CR-00319
M ARK A. S TEWART
THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY CHARGES THAT:
Count One
Conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 371
1. In or about May 2020, in the Northern District of Georgia and elsewhere,
the defendant, MARK A. STEWART, did knowingly and willfully combine,
conspire, confederate, agree, and have a tacit understanding with Co-
Conspirator 1 and others, known and unknown, to commit an offense against the
United States, that is, to devise and intend to devise a scheme and artifice to
defraud the United States and to obtain money and property by means of
materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and by
omission of material facts, and, with the intent to defraud, cause to be
transmitted certain wire communications in interstate and foreign commerce for
the purposes of executing the scheme, in violation of Title 18, United States Code,
Section 1343.
Background
The Paycheck Protection Program
2. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act is 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 up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to
small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program
referred to as the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”). In or around April
2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.
3. In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business must submit a PPP
loan application, which is signed by an authorized representative of the business.
The PPP loan application requires 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, the small business (through its authorized representative) must
state, among other things, its: (a) average monthly payroll expenses; and (b)
number of employees. These figures are used to calculate the amount of money
the small business is eligible to receive under the PPP. In addition, businesses
applying for a PPP loan must provide documentation showing their payroll
expenses.
4. A PPP loan application must be processed by a participating financial
institution (the lender). If a PPP loan application is approved, the participating
financial institution funds the PPP loan using its own monies, which are 100%
guaranteed by Small Business Administration (“SBA”). Data from the
2
application, including information about the borrower, the total amount of the
loan, and the listed number of employees, are transmitted by the lender to the
SBA in the course of processing the loan.
5. PPP loan proceeds must be used by the business on certain permissible
expenses—payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP
allows the interest and principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the
business spends the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated
period of time after receiving the proceeds and uses a certain amount of the PPP
loan proceeds on payroll expenses.
6. The PPP is overseen by the SBA, which is headquartered at 409 3rd Street
SW, Washington, D.C. 20416, and has authority over all loans. Individual PPP
loans, however, are issued by private approved lenders (most commonly, banks
and credit unions), which receive and process PPP applications and supporting
documentation, and then make loans using the lenders’ own funds.
Relevant Entities
7. Bank 1 is an SBA-approved lender headquartered in Fort Lee, New Jersey.
8. Bank 2 is a federally-insured financial institution headquartered in Cherry
Hill, New Jersey.
9. Company 1 pairs PPP applicants with lenders by collecting applications,
performing underwriting tasks, and submitting approved applications to SBA-
approved lenders such as Bank 1 for funding.
The Co-Conspirators
10. STEWART was a citizen of the United States and resident of the District of
South Carolina.
3
11. STEWART was an owner and authorized representative of The Infinity
Group of SC, LLC, located at 1451 East Main Street 1E, Spartanburg, SC 29307.
The Infinity Group of SC, LLC’s Employer Identification Number issued by the
U.S. Internal Revenue Service was 47-4157317.
12. The Infinity Group of SC, LLC maintained a business checking account
number ending 2283 at Bank 2. STEWART was an authorized signatory on the
account.
13. Co-Conspirator 1 (CC-1) was a United States citizen and a resident of the
Northern District of Georgia.
14. CC-1 aided STEWART in submitting an application for a PPP loan for The
Infinity Group of SC, LLC.
Object of the Conspiracy
15. The object of the conspiracy was for STEWART, CC-1, and others to
fraudulently obtain Paycheck Protection Program loans for themselves, and to
conceal the conspiracy.
Manner and Means of the Conspiracy
The Fraudulent PPP Loan Application
16. On or about May 11, 2020, a PPP loan application package was submitted
to Bank 1, via Company 1, requesting a $300,000 PPP loan for The Infinity Group
of SC, LLC. Included with the loan application were (1) an SBA Form 2483 PPP
Borrower Application Form bearing STEWART’s digital signature; (2) an IRS
Form 941 (Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Returns) purportedly reflecting The
Infinity Group of SC, LLC’s payroll data for April to June 2019; (3) a statement
4
from The Infinity Group of SC, LLC’s business checking account at Bank 2; and
(4) a Promissory Note bearing STEWART’s digital signature.
17. On the SBA Form 2483, STEWART falsely certified that his business had
an average monthly payroll of $120,000 and 16 employees. Among other things,
STEWART further falsely certified that all of the PPP loan funds would be “used
to retain workers and maintain payroll or make mortgage interest payments,
lease payments, and utility payments, as specified under the Paycheck Protection
Program Rule.” STEWART also acknowledged that failure to use the PPP funds
in accordance with the requirements of the PPP program, and making false
statements in support of the loan application, could result in criminal penalties.
18. The IRS Form 941 that was included with the PPP loan application falsely
represented, among other things, that The Infinity Group of SC, LLC had 16
employees and paid wages, tips, and other compensation in the amount of
$358,819.00 in each quarter of 2019. In fact, The Infinity Group of SC, LLC made
no quarterly tax filings in 2019.
19. On or about May 11, 2020, at CC-1’s direction, STEWART digitally signed
the SBA Form 2483 and the Promissory Note and electronically transmitted them
to Company 1. Company 1 then transmitted the loan package to Bank 1 for
approval.
20. On or about May 11, 2020, Bank 1 approved the PPP loan.
21. On or about May 13, 2020, Bank 1 wired approximately $300,000 to The
Infinity Group of SC, LLC’s business checking account at Bank 2.
5
22. In or about May 2020, in coordination with CC-1, STEWART signed
approximately 28 checks written against The Infinity Group of SC, LLC’s
business checking account at Bank 2, made out to himself, to cash, and to other
individuals who were not eligible to receive the loan proceeds.
23. Some of the individuals who received checks signed by STEWART cashed
the checks within the Northern District of Georgia.
All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371.
Count Two
False Statements
18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(1) and 2
24. In or about May 2020, in the Northern District of Georgia and elsewhere,
the defendant, MARK A. STEWART, did knowingly and willfully make
materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations in a
matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the
United States, namely, the Small Business Administration, those being: on or
about May 11, 2020, STEWART signed and initialed an SBA Form 2483 Paycheck
Protection Program Borrower Application Form knowing the form contained
false information regarding his company’s eligibility for a Paycheck Program
loan.
All in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Section 1001(a)(1) and Section
2.
6
FORFEITURE ALLEGATION
25. Upon conviction of the offense alleged in Count One of this Criminal
Information, the defendant, MARK A. STEWART, shall forfeit to the United
States, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), all property,
real and personal, constituting and derived from proceeds traceable to the
scheme to defraud, including but not limited to the following:
(a) MONEY JUDGMENT: A sum of money in United States currency equal
to the amount of proceeds the defendant obtained as a result of the
offense for which the defendant is convicted.
(b) FUNDS:
(1) $ 50,334.60 seized from TD Bank account number XXXXXX2283 held
in the name of The Infinity Group of SC, LLC.
26. If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of
the defendant:
a. cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence;
b. has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party;
c. has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the Court;
d. has been substantially diminished in value; or has been commingled with
other property which 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, Section 853(p), as incorporated by Title
28, United States Code, Section 2461(c).
7
B YUNG J. P AK
United States Attorney
D IANE C. S CHULMAN
Special Assistant United States Attorney
Georgia Bar No. 497764
M ICHAEL P. M C C ARTHY
Trial Attorney
DC Bar No. 1020231
600 U.S. Courthouse
75 Ted Turner Drive SW
Atlanta, GA 30303
404-581-6000; Fax: 404-581-6181
8
File and source
- File
- CRIM_GAND_1-20-CR-00319_US-v-Mark-A-Stewart_docX_INFORMATION.pdf
- Size
- 153,370 bytes
- SHA-256
- 094cfd1654968c2e3572af9e4183b50c3f30e066e67bdbd76ba1114cc14e71d0
- Original
- No public link identified.