Indictment — Michael Ansezell Tolliver (Western District of Louisiana, Monroe Division)

Summary

Indictment filed 10/27/21 in the Western District of Louisiana, Monroe Division, against Michael Ansezell Tolliver, a resident of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana. Counts 1-2 charge wire fraud and Counts 3-5 charge money laundering. It alleges a scheme to defraud the SBA and financial institutions by falsifying PPP and EIDL Program loan applications and submitting them to Bank 3, Bank 4, and the SBA. The wire fraud counts describe a payment of approximately $150,000 from the SBA on July 15, 2020, and a payment of approximately $664,720 on May 21, 2020. It ends with forfeiture allegations tied to Counts Three through Five.

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.

Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 1 of 15 PagelD#: 1

RECEIVED
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT OCT 27 2021
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LC
WESTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA ORION OOaT
MONROE DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ‘ 3-91-er-00271-01
vs » Judge Doughty
» Magistrate Judge McClusky
*

MICHAEL ANSEZELL TOLLIVER

INDICTMENT

THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
COUNTS 1-2
Wire Fraud
[18 U.S.C. § 1343]
AT ALL TIMES HEREIN RELEVANT

The Defendant and Relevant Entities

1. The defendant, Michael Ansezell Tolliver, was a resident of Ouachita
Parish, Louisiana.

2. Tolliver Oil & Gas Corporation of Louisiana Inc. (“Tolliver Oil & Gas”)
was a Louisiana corporation registered in or around 2007,

3. Tolliver Petroleum Corporation of Louisiana (“Tolliver Petroleum”) was
a Louisiana corporation registered in or around 2020.

A. Bank 1 was headquartered in Louisiana and maintained branch

locations in Louisiana and elsewhere.

5. Bank 2 was headquartered in New York and maintained branch

locations throughout the United States.
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document 1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 2 of 15 PagelD#: 2

6. Bank 3 was headquartered in New Jersey and maintained branch
locations throughout the northeastern United States, all of which were outside the

state of Louisiana.

7. Bank 4 was headquartered in California and maintained branch
locations outside the state of Louisiana.

Small Business Administration

8. The United States Small Business Administration (“SBA”) was an
executive-branch agency of the United States government that provided support to
entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the SBA was to maintain and
strengthen the nation’s economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small
businesses and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters.

9, As part of this effort, the SBA facilitated government-backed loans
through banks, credit unions, and other lenders.

The Paycheck Protection Program

10. 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 were 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.
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 3 of 15 PagelD #: 3

11. In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business was required to
submit 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, the small business (through its authorized representative) was required
to state its average monthly payroll expenses and its number of employees, among
other things. 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.

12. A PPP loan application was processed by a participating financial
institution (“lender”), If a PPP loan application was approved, the participating
lender would fund the loan using its own monies, which were 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.

13. PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by the business on certain
permissible expenses, including payroll costs, mortgage interest, rent, and utilities.
Under the applicable PPP rules and guidance, the interest and principal on the PPP
loan was eligible for forgiveness if the business was eligible for the PPP loan it

received, spent the loan proceeds on these permissible expense items within a
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 4 of 15 PagelD#: 4

designated period of time, and used a certain portion of the loan proceeds for payroll
expenses.

14. Bank 3 and Bank 4 participated in the SBA’s PPP as lenders and, as
such, were authorized to lend funds to eligible borrowers under the terms of the PPP.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

15. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan (“EIDL”) Program was an SBA
program that provided low-interest financing to small businesses, renters, and
homeowners in regions affected by declared disasters.

16. The CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs up to $2 million
to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the CARES Act authorized the SBA to issue
advances of up to $10,000 to small businesses within three days of applying for an
EIDL. The amount of the advance was determined by the number of employees the
applicant certified having. The advances did not have to be repaid.

17. In order to obtain an EIDL and advance, a qualifying business was
required to submit an application to the SBA and provide information about its
operations, such as: (1) the number of employees, (2) gross revenues for the 12-month
period preceding the disaster, and (3) cost of goods sold in the 12-month period
preceding the disaster. The 12-month period for EIDLs for COVID-19 relief was from
January 31, 2019 to January 31, 2020. The applicant was also required to certify
that all the information in the application was true and correct to the best of the
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 5 of 15 PagelD#: 5

18. EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA and processed by
the agency with support from a government contractor, Rapid Finance. The amount
of the loan, if the application was approved, was determined based on the information
provided by the applicant about employment, revenue, and cost of goods, as described
above. Any funds issued under an EIDL or advance were issued directly by the SBA.
EIDL funds could be used for payroll expenses, sick leave, production costs, and
business obligations, such as debts, rent, and mortgage payments. If the applicant
also obtained a loan under the PPP, the EIDL funds could not be used for the same
purpose as the PPP funds.

The Scheme to Defraud

19. Tolliver devised a scheme and artifice to defraud the SBA and various
financial institutions, including Bank 3 and Bank 4, by:

(1) falsifying PPP and EIDL Program loan applications, forms, and other
documents (“fraudulent loan applications’);

(2) submitting and causing to be submitted fraudulent loan applications to
Bank 3, Bank 4, and the SBA in order to obtain funds through the PPP and
EIDL Program; and

(3) receiving and obtaining payments and benefits from Bank 3, Bank 4, and

the SBA based on the fraudulent loan applications submitted.

Purpose of the Scheme

20. The purpose of the scheme and artifice was for the defendant to unjustly

enrich himself and others through the submission of the fraudulent loan applications.

5
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 6 of 15 PagelD #: 6

Manner and Means of the Scheme

21. The manner and means by which Tolliver sought to accomplish the

objects and purpose of the scheme and artifice included, among others:
Tolliver Oil & Gas EIDL Application

22. Onor about April 4, 2020, Tolliver electronically submitted and caused
to be submitted to the SBA a false and fraudulent EIDL application in the name of
Tolliver Oil & Gas, seeking approximately $150,000 in EIDL Program funds
(“Tolliver Oil & Gas EIDL Program application”). Tolliver signed the Tolliver Oil &
Gas EIDL Program application and certified that the application and all information
provided was true and accurate.

23. In the Tolliver Oil & Gas EIDL Program application, Tolliver falsely
represented that the business had 50 employees and that its annual gross revenue
was approximately $1,142,408.

24. Inthe Tolliver Oil & Gas EIDL Program application, Tolliver also used
the Social Security Number of a deceased person as his own.

25. <Atthe time of the EIDL application for Tolliver Oil & Gas, the company
was administratively terminated by the Louisiana Secretary of State. As Tolliver
knew at the time that he submitted the Tolliver Oil & Gas EIDL Program application,
Tolliver Oil & Gas had no employees or annual revenues.

26. Based on Tolliver’s material misrepresentations set forth in the

fraudulent Tolliver Oil & Gas EIDL Program application described in Paragraphs 22
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document 1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 7 of 15 PagelD #: 7

through 25, on or about July 15, 2020, the SBA disbursed approximately $150,000 in
loan benefits to account no. x1680, held by Tolliver at Bank 2.
Tolliver Oil & Gas PPP Application

27. Onor about May 14, 2020, Tolliver electronically submitted and caused
to be submitted a false and fraudulent PPP application to Bank 3 in the name of
Tolliver Oil & Gas PPP seeking approximately $664,724 in PPP funds (“Tolliver Oil
& Gas PPP application”). Tolliver signed the Tolliver Oil & Gas PPP application
and certified that the application and all information provided was true and accurate.
Among other things, Tolliver certified that the funds would be used “to retain
workers and maintain payroll,” as well as for making other permissible expenses.

28. Inthe Tolliver Oil & Gas PPP application, Tolliver falsely represented
that the company had 108 employees and that its average monthly payroll was
approximately $265,889.60. In addition, Tolliver submitted a document that
purported to be the company’s Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax
Return (“IRS Form 940”) for 2019. On the IRS Form 940, Tolliver falsely
represented that, in 2019, Tolliver paid “$1,9263.75” to employees of Tolliver Oil &
Gas.

29. At the time of the PPP application for Tolliver Oil & Gas, the company
was administratively terminated by the Louisiana Secretary of State. As Tolliver
knew at the time that he submitted the Tolliver Oil & Gas PPP application, Tolliver
Oil & Gas had no employees or monthly payroll expenses. The IRS Form 940 that

Tolliver provided in support of the company’s PPP application was fictitious.
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 8 of 15 PagelD#: 8

30. In the PPP application for Tolliver Oil & Gas, Tolliver also used the
Social Security Number of a deceased person.

31. Based on Tolliver’s material misrepresentations set forth in the
fraudulent Tolliver Oil & Gas PPP application and supporting documents described
in Paragraphs 27 through 30, on or about May 21, 2020, Bank 3 disbursed
approximately $664,724 in loan benefits to account no. x3844, held by Tolliver at
Bank 1.

Tolliver Petroleum PPP Application

32. On or about June 16, 2020, Tolliver electronically submitted and
caused to be submitted a false and fraudulent PPP application in the name of Tolliver
Petroleum, from Ouachita Parish, Louisiana to Bank 4, seeking approximately
$1,901,145 in PPP funds (“Tolliver Petroleum PPP application”). Tolliver signed the
Tolliver Petroleum PPP application and certified that the application and all
information provided was true and accurate. Among other things, Tolliver certified
that the funds would be used “to retain workers and maintain payroll,” as well as for
making other permissible expenses.

33. Inthe Tolliver Petroleum PPP application, Tolliver falsely represented
that the company had 70 employees and that Tolliver Petroleum’s average monthly
payroll was approximately $760,458. In addition, Tolliver submitted a document
that purported to be the company’s IRS Form 940 for 2019. On the IRS Form 940,
Tolliver falsely represented that, in 2019, Tolliver Petroleum had made

approximately $1,901,146.59 in payments to employees.
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 9 of 15 PagelD #: 9

34. On the same date as the PPP application for Tolliver Petroleum,
Tolliver filed articles of incorporation for Tolliver Petroleum with the Louisiana
Secretary of State.

35. As Tolliver knew at the time that he submitted the Tolliver Petroleum
PPP application, Tolliver Petroleum had no employees or monthly payroll expenses,
The IRS Form 940 that Tolliver provided in support of the company’s PPP
application was fictitious.

36. In the PPP application for Tolliver Petroleum, Tolliver also falsely
stated that he did not own any other businesses, and he used a Social Security
Number for a deceased person.

37. The Tolliver Petroleum PPP application was not approved or funded.

Scope of Scheme

38. In addition to the Tolliver Oil & Gas EIDL Program application, the
Tolliver Oil & Gas PPP application, and the Tolliver Petroleum PPP application, from
in or around April 2020, and continuing through at least in or around July 2020,
Tolliver submitted and caused the submission of at least seven additional fraudulent
PPP and EIDL Program applications.

39. In total, based on the approximately nine fraudulent PPP and EIDL
Program applications Tolliver submitted and caused to be submitted, Tolliver
fraudulently sought at least $7,607,096 in PPP and EIDL Program loans and

obtained at least $1,114,724 in loan benefits.
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 10 of 15 PagelD #: 10

Use of Proceeds

40. After obtaining the fraudulent loan benefits, Tolliver transferred the
funds to other bank accounts and made payments on vehicles, including a 2020
Cadillac CT5 and a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500; watches, including two Tissot and two
Tag Heuer watches; and All-Terrain Vehicles (“ATVs”), including two 2021 Honda
Rubicon ATVs and one 2021 Honda Pioneer ATV.

Interstate Wire Communications

41. Beginning in or around April 2020, and continuing through in or around

at least July 2020, in the Western District of Louisiana and elsewhere, the defendant,

MICHAEL ANSEZELL TOLLIVER,
having knowingly devised and intended to 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 attempting to do so, did knowingly
transmit and cause to be transmitted, by means of wire communications in interstate
commerce, writings, signals, pictures, and sounds for the purpose of executing such
scheme and artifice.

42. On or about the dates specified below, in the Western District of
Louisiana and elsewhere, Tolliver, for the purpose of executing and attempting to
execute the scheme described in Paragraphs 19 through 40 of this Indictment,
submitted and caused to be submitted by means of wire communication in interstate
commerce the writings, signals, and pictures described below for each count, with

each transmission constituting a separate count:

10
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 11of15 PagelD#: 11

Approximate

Date Description of Wire

Count

Payment of approximately $664,720 from Bank 8,
1 May 21, 2020 located outside the State of Louisiana, into Tolliver’s
account no. x3844 at Bank 1

Payment of approximately $150,000 from the SBA,
2 July 15, 2020 located outside the State of Louisiana, into Tolliver’s
account no. x1680 at Bank 2

Each of the above is a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
COUNTS 3-5
Money Laundering
[18 U.S.C. § 1957]
43. Paragraphs 1 through 41 of this Indictment are re-alleged and
incorporated herein by reference as though fully set forth herein.
44. On or about the dates specified as to each count below, in the Western
District of Louisiana and elsewhere, the defendant,
MICHAEL ANSEZELL TOLLIVER,
knowingly engaged and attempted to engage in monetary transactions by, through,
and to a financial institution, affecting interstate and foreign commerce, in criminally
derived property of a value greater than $10,000, such property having been derived
from a specified unlawful activity, that is wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United

States Code, Section 1343, knowing that the property involved in the monetary

transactions was derived from some form of unlawful activity, as set forth below:

Approximate

Date Description

Count

Tolliver transferred and caused an electronic transfer
3 May 21, 2020 of approximately $100,000 from account no. x3844 to
account no. x3852, both held by Tolliver at Bank 3

11
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 12 of 15 PagelD#: 12

Tolliver deposited and caused the deposit of a
cashier’s check in the approximate amount of $500,065
from account no. x3844 held by Tolliver at Bank 3
into account no. x1680 held by Tolliver at Bank 2
Tolliver made and caused to be made a payment of
approximately $14,164.84 from account no, x1680 held
by Tolliver at Bank 2 on a 2021 GMC Sierra 1500

4 June 25, 2020

December 18,
2020

Each of the above is a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1957.
NOTICE OF FORFEITURE

45. Paragraphs 1 through 44 of the Indictment are re-alleged and
incorporated by reference as through fully set forth herein for the purposes of alleging
forfeiture to the United States.

46. Upon conviction of one or more of the offenses set forth in Counts One
through Two of this Indictment, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States,
pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(2)(A), and/or Title 18, United
States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C), the latter made applicable by Title 28, United
States Code, Section 2461(c), any property, real or personal, which constitutes or is
derived from proceeds traceable to any of the said offenses, including but not limited
to:

a. Gross proceeds of the offenses held in account no. x1680 at Bank 2.
b. One 2020 Cadillac CT5, VIN 1G6DN5RK8L0151745, purchase
price of approximately $45,027.80, purchased from Ryan Chevrolet

on or about November 21, 2020.

12
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 13 of 15 PagelD #: 13

c. One 2021 GMC Sierra 1500, VIN 1GTU9SFEL1MZ160502, purchase
price of approximately $65,261.73, purchased from Jim Taylor
Buick GMC on or about December 18, 2020.

d. One Tissot PR 100 T101.910.61.116.00 watch, purchase price of
approximately $1,116, purchased from Hollis & Company on or
about December 28, 2020.

e. One Tag Heuer Carrera WAR1314.BA0778 watch, purchase price
of approximately $1,610, purchased from Hollis & Company on or
about December 28, 2020.

f. One Tissot PR 100 T101.910.61.121.00 watch, purchase price of
approximately $1,036, purchased from Hollis & Company on or
about December 28, 2020.

g. One Tag Heuer Carrera WAR1353.BD0779 watch, purchase price
of approximately $4,130, purchased from Hollis & Company on or
about December 28, 2020.

h. One 2021 Honda Rubicon, Model ID TRX520FM6M, VIN
1HFTE456XM4600337, purchase price of approximately
$11,412.30, purchased from Honda of Russellville on or about

January 15, 2021.

13
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 14 of 15 PagelD #: 14

i. One 2021 Honda Rubicon, Model [D TRX520FM6M, VIN
1HFTE45F4M4600222, purchase price of approximately
$11,957.30, purchased from Honda of Russellville on or about
January 15, 2021.

j. One 2021 Honda Pioneer 100-5 Deluxe, Model ID SXS10M5DM,
VIN 1HFVE0428M4503301, purchase price of approximately
$23,563.96, purchased from Honda of Russellville on or about
January 15, 2021.

47. Upon conviction of one or more of the offenses set forth in Counts Three
through Five of this Indictment, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States,
pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(1), and/or Title 18, United
States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(A), the latter made applicable by Title 28, United
States Code, Section 2461(c), any property, real or personal, involved in such
offense(s), or any property traceable to such property.

48. If any of the above-described forfeitable property, 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

e. has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided

without difficulty;

14
Case 3:21-cr-00271-TAD-KDM Document1 Filed 10/27/21 Page 15 of 15 PagelD #: 15

it is the intent of the United States, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section
853(p), as incorporated by Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(b), to seek
forfeiture of any other property of the defendant up to the value of the forfeitable
property described above.
A TRUE BILL:
REDACTED
GRAND JURY FOREPERSON

ALEXANDER C,. VAN HOOK
ACTING UNITED STATES ATTORNEY

SETH D. REEG
ASSISTANT UNITED STATE TORNEY

JOSEPH S. BEEMSTERBOER

ACTING CHIEF

CRIMINAL DIVISION, FRAUD SECTION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

JUSTIN M. WOODARD

TRIAL ATTORNEY
CRIMINAL DIVISION, FRAUD SECTION
UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

fen

15


File and source

File

CRIM_LAWD_3-21-cr-00271_US-v-Michael-Tolliver_doc1_INDICTMENT_2021-10-27.pdf

Size

1,253,133 bytes

SHA-256

8df4ee8207bdd02fe9eabc3bd731f06a575eb72f8a67b1bd6163077b48479636

Our copy

CRIM_LAWD_3-21-cr-00271_US-v-Michael-Tolliver_doc1_INDICTMENT_2021-10-27.pdf

Original

No public link identified.