Affidavit in Support of an Application for a Criminal Complaint — United States v. Argires (Document 1)
Summary
Affidavit supporting a criminal complaint, Document 1 filed on 07/09/20 in TXSD, Case 4:21-cr-00275, sworn by U.S. Postal Inspector Kyle Shadowens. It states probable cause for the arrest of Joshua Argires for offenses in the Southern District of Texas between April 2020 and the present: false statements to a financial institution, wire fraud, bank fraud, and engaging in prohibited monetary transactions. It states that Texas Barbecue does not appear to have any employees, that no funds were withdrawn from its Coinbase account, and that the Bank 1 PPP loan was funded in the amount of $160,657. It also quotes Argires telling a Credit Union 1 representative that he believes Coinbase pays out employees, a statement the affidavit calls inaccurate.
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“Affidavit in Support of an Application for a Criminal Complaint — United States v. Argires (Document 1).”
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AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF AN APPLICATION FOR A CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
I, U.S. Postal Inspector Kyle Shadowens, being first duly sworn, state:
INTRODUCTION
1. I make this affidavit in support of a criminal complaint establishing probable cause
for the arrest of Joshua ARGIRES for committing the following offenses in the Southern District
of Texas between April 2020 and the present:
a. 18 U.S.C. § 1014, False Statements to a Financial Institution;
b. 18 U.S.C. § 1343, Wire Fraud;
c. 18 U.S.C. § 1344, Bank Fraud; and
d. 18 U.S.C. § 1957, Engaging in Prohibited Monetary Transactions.
2. As described below, there is probable cause to believe that ARGIRES committed
the above-listed offenses in connection with a bank and wire fraud scheme targeting the Paycheck
Protection Program, a program created to address the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic
by providing forgivable loans to small businesses.
AGENT BACKGROUND
3. I am employed as a federal law enforcement officer by the United States Postal
Inspection Service. I have been employed as a federal law enforcement officer since 2013, and I
am currently assigned to the Financial Crimes/Mail Fraud team in the Houston Division of the
United States Postal Inspection Service. I am responsible for conducting and have conducted many
investigations into fraud, identity theft, and related "white collar" offenses. I have been licensed
as an attorney by the State Bar of Texas since 2010, and I am a Certified Fraud Examiner. I have
received training in how to investigate numerous Postal crimes, but primarily those involving
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identity theft, mail fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud, and related "white collar" offenses. I am
authorized to obtain and execute Federal Arrest and Search Warrants.
4. The information presented in this affidavit is based on my own personal
investigation and the investigation of other law enforcement officers, which was communicated to
me orally or via written communication. The facts set forth do not constitute all that has been
learned in the course of the investigation but only enough to establish that probable cause exists
for the issuance of a complaint and arrest warrant for ARGIRES.
OVERVIEW OF THE SCHEME AND THE PAYCHECK PROTECTION PROGRAM
Overview of the Paycheck Protection Program
5. 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.
6. 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
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under the PPP. In addition, businesses applying for a PPP loan must provide documentation
showing their payroll expenses.
7. A PPP loan application must be processed by a participating lender. If a PPP loan
application is approved, the participating lender funds the PPP loan using its own monies, which
are 100% guaranteed by Small Business Administration (SBA). Data from the application,
including information about the borrower, the total amount of the loan, and the listed number of
employees, is transmitted by the lender to the SBA in the course of processing the loan.
8. 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.
Background ofARGIRES and Overview of the Scheme
9. ARGIRES is a resident of the Houston metropolitan area, in the Southern District
of Texas. In or about April 2020, ARGIRES submitted two materially false loan applications to
financial institutions in order to wrongfully obtain funds from the PPP program. On both
applications, ARGIRES claimed that the business entities seeking the loans had numerous
employees and significant payroll expenses. However, neither entity had any employees, and
neither paid any wages. Because of these misrepresentations, ARGIRES was able to obtain over
$1.1 million in PPP loan funds that he would not have been provided had he been truthful.
Relevant Financial Institutions and Related Entities
10. Credit Union 1 is a federally insured financial institution and a member of the
federal home loan bank system. Credit Union 1 is an approved SBA lender and has participated
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as a lender in the PPP. Credit Union 1 received a PPP loan application on behalf of Texas
Barbecue, LLC ("Texas Barbecue").
11. Bank 1 is a federally insured financial institution. Bank 1 is an approved SBA
lender and has participated as a lender in the PPP. Bank 1 received a PPP loan application on
behalf of Houston Landscaping, LLC ("Houston Landscaping").
The PPP Loan Application to Credit Union 1
Background Relating to the Application
12. According to information received by Credit Union 1, on or shortly after April 20,
2020, a PPP loan application was submitted to Credit Union 1 on behalf of Texas Barbecue
("Credit Union 1 PPP Application"). This application requested a PPP loan in the amount of
$956,250.
13. The Credit Union 1 PPP Application identified Joshua ARGIRES as the 51% owner
of Texas Barbecue.
False and Suspicious Statements on the Credit Union 1 PPP Application
14. Investigation has revealed that numerous statements on the Credit Union 1 PPP
Application appear to be false and suspicious.
15. On the Credit Union 1 PPP Application, the applicant claims that Texas Barbecue
has 51 employees and an average monthly payroll of $382,500. However, investigation indicates
Texas Barbecue actually has no employees, no payroll, and no revenue.
16. By rule, Texas employers must submit reports of wages paid to the Texas
Workforce Commission ("TWC"). Employers in Texas must also provide information about
newly hired workers to the TWC within 20 days of hiring. Further, all Texas employers must
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establish an unemployment tax account with the TWC. State law requires that employers in Texas
pay unemployment tax on each eligible employee.
17. Records from the TWC indicate that Texas Barbecue has never reported any wages
for any employee. These records also show that Texas Barbecue has never reported a hire, nor has
Texas Barbecue ever paid any unemployment tax. These facts lead investigators to believe that
Texas Barbecue has never paid any wages to anyone and has never hired an employee.
18. Additionally, records were obtained from the Texas Comptroller of Public
Accounts ("Texas Comptroller") relating to Texas Barbecue. Texas Barbecue submitted annual
franchise tax reports to the Texas Comptroller for calendar years 2016, 2017, and 2018. In all
three years, Texas Barbecue's annual revenue was reported as zero dollars. No annual franchise
tax report has yet been filed for calendar year 2019.
19. Furthermore, investigators have not been able to find any evidence of any business
activity by Texas Barbecue. In fact, Texas Barbecue did not have a known bank account until
approximately May 4, 2020, which is after the date on which the Credit Union 1 PPP Loan
Application was approved. To date, the only deposit into that account has been the PPP loan itself.
There is no evidence of any business activity being conducted via that account.
20. Texas Barbecue appears to have a very limited online presence. The entity has a
website, txbarbecue.com, which lists some general information about Texas Barbecue's putative
products for sale. The website has an online purchasing portal, but when a user tries to access it,
the website states that "our online store is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic." The
website also states "new locations opening soon!" but provides no address or details about any
business locations. In fact, the only address listed is a post office box on Richmond Avenue,
discussed in paragraphs 22 and 24, below. Although the website is operational, it provides very
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few details about Texas Barbecue's purported business operations. Additionally, investigators
were not able to identify any reviews or comments about Texas Barbecue on any online platforms.
Such online reviews are common for operational barbecue entities.
21. ARGIRES also holds personal checking and savings accounts at Credit Union 1.
Between December 2019 and June 2020, the balance of ARGIRES' personal checking account
never exceeded $750, and the highest balance in ARGIRES' personal savings account was $1,525.
There are no transactions in either of ARGIRES' accounts that appear to relate to Texas Barbecue
in any way. These modest balances and the lack of account activity are improbable for an
individual who claims to be a 51 % owner in a company with monthly payroll expenses of
$382,500.
22. Additionally, the average monthly payroll $382,500 for 51 employees equates
to average wages of $7,500 per month, or $90,000 annually, per employee. Such a high average
salary for a barbecue operation raises further suspicion.
23. The Credit Union 1 PPP loan application lists a business address of 1319 Richmond
Avenue, Unit 667573, Houston, Texas 77006. The 1319 Richmond Avenue address corresponds
to a post office. Unit 667573 is a post office box inside that post office.
24. This post office box is the only address claimed for Texas Barbecue. Even so, the
Credit Union 1 PPP Application states that two purposes of the PPP loan are "lease/mortgage
interest" and "utilities." But investigation indicates that Texas Barbecue does not have a physical
business location, and therefore, has no lease, mortgage interest, or utilities to pay.
25. Postal records indicate that post office box 667573 is used by ARGIRES in his
personal capacity, is listed by ARGIRES as the business address for certain other entities in
addition to Texas Barbecue, and is also used by an associate of ARGIRES.
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Disbursement and Use of the PPP Loan Funds from Credit Union 1
26. The Credit Union 1 PPP loan was in fact funded. But at the time the loan was
approved, Texas Barbecue did not have a bank account.
27. On May 4, 2020, ARGIRES opened a business account on behalf of Texas
Barbecue, also at Credit Union 1. On May 8, 2020, the newly established Texas Barbecue account
received a PPP loan deposit of $956,600. 1 This was the first deposit into the Texas Barbecue
business account, and it remains the only deposit into that account to date.
28. On or about May 17, 2020, ARGIRES opened a cryptocurrency account in the name
of Texas Barbecue at Coinbase, Inc. ("Coinbase"). Coinbase is an online platform that allows
account holders to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. Coinbase account
holders can also store cryptocurrencies and United States dollars in their account "wallets," which
function essentially like traditional bank accounts. Funds can be securely stored in these wallets
and can also be transferred into or out of these wallets.
29. The user of the Texas Barbecue Coinbase account is listed as ARGIRES.
30. No business address is provided for Texas Barbecue in the Coinbase account.
31. For the Coinbase account, ARGIRES listed his birthday as January 1, 1970, which
is false. He was born in 1991.
32. Beginning on May 19, 2020, ARGIRES began a series of transactions, ultimately
resulting in the transfer of $956,250 into the Texas Barbecue Coinbase account. ARGIRES
accomplished this through a series of five identical wire transfers.
33. First, on May 19, 2020, ARGIRES instructed Credit Union 1 to send a wire transfer
of $191,250 from Texas Barbecue's Credit Union 1 account to Texas Barbecue's Coinbase
1 Although the Credit Union I PPP Application requested a loan of $956,250, Credit Union I funded the loan in the
amount of$956,600.
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account. Credit Union 1 did as ARGIRES directed. This transfer was followed by four other wire
transfers in the same amount, each executed approximately one week apart. Specifically, the
additional transfers of $191,250 between Texas Barbecue's Credit Union 1 account to Texas
Barbecue's Coinbase account occurred on or about May 26, 2020; June 2, 2020; June 9, 2020; and
June 18, 2020. These five transfers collectively totaled $956,250.
34. Account records reveal that as of June 30, 2020, the $956,250 amount remains in
the Coinbase account. Some of this money appears to have been invested in cryptocurrency, which
generated a profit. No funds were transferred out of the Coinbase account.
35. For each of the five wire transfers discussed above, ARGIRES had to call Credit
Union 1 to verbally request the wire transfer and to provide necessary account information. In two
of these calls, which were recorded, ARGIRES made statements to Credit Union 1 representatives
about the use of the funds in the Coinbase account. These statements appear inconsistent with
ARGIRES' actual use of this money.
36. For example, during one of these calls, ARGIRES stated that the $191,250 amount
was "for two weeks payroll," but there is no indication that this money was used for payroll
expenses. First, as described above, Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange and storage platform.
While Coinbase does permit business accounts, it does not provide payroll services. Second, no
funds were ever withdrawn from the Coinbase account, as would be necessary if the funds were
used for payroll. Third, as explained above, Texas Barbecue does not appear to have any
employees and thus has no payroll expenses.
37. In another call, a Credit Union 1 representative asked ARGIRES his opinion of
Coinbase. ARGIRES responded, "I don't really manage that aspect of it, but I believe it pays out
employees, like, through that." This statement appears inaccurate. Evidence indicates that
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ARGIRES has exclusive control of the Coinbase account. Indeed, ARGIRES is the sole user
associated with the account, and there is no indication that anyone else manages this account for
him. Additionally, the internet protocol address associated with several of the Coinbase account
transactions appears to be associated with a physical location in or very near to a residence in
Southwest Houston that investigators believe is associated with ARGIRES. Furthermore,
ARGIRES' suggestion that the Coinbase account is used to pay employees appears false, as no
funds were withdrawn from the account, but instead remained under ARGIRES' control. Also, as
mentioned above, Texas Barbecue has no known employees.
The PPP Loan Application to Bank 1
Background Relating to the Application
38. According to information received by Bank 1, in approximately early April 2020,
a PPP loan application was submitted to Bank 1 on behalf of Houston Landscaping ("Bank 1 PPP
Application"). It appears that the Bank 1 PPP Application requested a loan in the amount of
$481,875.
39. The Bank 1 PPP Application identified ARGIRES as the authorized representative
of Houston Landscaping.
False and Suspicious Statements on the Bank 1 PPP Application
40. Investigation has revealed that numerous statements made in connection with the
Bank 1 PPP Application appear to be false and suspicious.
41. As part of the Bank 1 PPP Application package, ARGIRES informed Bank 1 that
Houston Landscaping's average monthly payroll was $192,750.
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42. Records received from Texas state entities indicate that Houston Landscaping in
fact has no employees, no payroll, and insufficient annual revenue to cover even one month of the
claimed payroll expenses.
43. As discussed in paragraph 15, above, employers in Texas must provide wage
reports, give information about new hires, and pay unemployment tax to the TWC. Records from
the TWC indicate that Houston Landscaping has never reported any wages for any employee.
These records also show that Houston Landscaping has never reported a hire, nor has Houston
Landscaping ever paid any unemployment tax. These facts cause investigators to believe that
Houston Landscaping has never paid any wages to anyone and has never hired an employee.
44. Additionally, records were obtained from the Texas Comptroller relating to
Houston Landscaping. Houston Landscaping submitted annual franchise tax reports to the Texas
Comptroller for calendar years 2017 and 2018. In 2017, Houston Landscaping reported zero
dollars in revenue. In 2018, Houston Landscaping reported total revenue of $154,000. No annual
franchise tax report has yet been filed for calendar year 2019.
45. As mentioned above, ARGIRES informed Bank 1 that Houston Landscaping had
average monthly payroll expenses of $192,750. Accordingly, Houston Landscaping's total
reported revenue for calendar year 2018 would be insutlicient to cover even one month of Houston
Landscaping's purported payroll expenses.
46. Several supporting documents submitted to Bank 1 in connection with the Bank 1
PPP Application also bear indicia of fraud. For instance, the applicant submitted three IRS Forms
941, which are quarterly federal unemployment tax returns. These returns are all in the name of
Houston Landscaping. They are dated April 15, 2019; July 15, 2019; and April 15, 2020. Based
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on these dates, investigators believe that the Forms 941 pertain to the first quarter of 2019, the
second quarter of 2019, and the first quarter of 2020, respectively.
47. Each of these Forms 941 indicates that Houston Landscaping has 15 employees.
However, as identified above, Texas state records indicate that Houston Landscaping has never
actually hired a single employee.
48. The Forms 941 also list the total quarterly wages purportedly paid by Houston
Landscaping. The Form 941 dated April 15, 2019, states that Houston Landscaping paid wages to
its 15 employees in the amount of $182,428.55. The Form 941 dated July 15, 2019, claims the
same number of employees but lists total quarterly wages of $588,724.69. The Form 941 dated
April 15, 2020, identified total wages for the 15 employees as $121,282.23. There appear to be
no Forms 941 for the third or fourth quarters of 2019.
49. Investigators believe that the extreme variance in reported wages is suspicious.
Although the putative total number of employees remained steady at 15, the wages claimed in the
second quarter of 2019 are more than triple the wages in the first quarter of 2019 and more than
quadruple the wages in the first quarter of 2020.
50. The average monthly payroll claimed on behalf of Houston Landscaping in the
Bank 1 PPP Application appears unreasonable. Total wages of $192,750 for 15 employees result
in average monthly pay of $12,850 per employee, or an average annual salary of $154,200.
Investigators believe that such high salaries for a landscaping company are extremely unlikely.
51. Furthermore, as part of the Bank 1 PPP Application, the applicant also provided an
IRS Form 940, which is an employer's annual federal unemployment tax return, in the name of
Houston Landscaping. This Form 940 pertains to tax year 2019. The 2019 Form 940 lists Houston
Landscaping's total annual payments to its employees as $771,153.24.
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52. This reported annual payment amount is inconsistent with the average monthly
payroll expenses claimed as part of the Bank 1 PPP Application. Total annual payments to
employees of$771,153.24 would result in average monthly payments to employees of$64,262.77.
This is approximately one-third of the average monthly wages of $192,750 claimed by the
applicant as part of the Bank 1 PPP Application.
53. The Forms 941 and Form 940 all list the address for Houston Landscaping as 1319
Richmond Avenue, Unit 667573, Houston, Texas 77006. As detailed in paragraphs 22 and 24,
above, this address pertains not to a business location, but to a post office box used by ARGIRES,
several business entities connected to ARGIRES, and an associate of ARGIRES.
54. Furthermore, investigators have reviewed bank records pertaining to a business
checking account at Bank 1 in the name ofHouston Landscaping. ARGIRES is the only authorized
signor on the account. For the entire calendar year of 2019, this account received approximately
$114,000 in deposits. Many of these deposits appear to be transfers into the account made by
ARGIRES himself. Additionally, in the first three months of 2020, the Houston Landscaping
business account received total deposits of$17,478. These deposits are extremely low for an entity
claiming monthly payroll expenses of$192,750 indeed, these deposits are less than one-tenth of
the claimed monthly payroll amount.
55. There is little indication of any potential wages paid out of the Houston
Landscaping bank account to any employees. It does not appear that any regular payroll payments
were made from this account at all. There are very few debits from the account in 2019 or 2020
that could even potentially serve as payments to individuals.
56. Investigators also reviewed bank records for a personal checking account at Bank
1 in ARGIRES' name. ARGIRES is the only authorized signor on the account. Between April 28
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and June 24, 2020, ARGIRES received five payments totaling $10,098 from the TWC, all labeled
as unemployment insurance. ARGIRES reported that his most recent employer was Greater
Houston Landscaping, LLC. Texas state records indicate that Greater Houston Landscaping, LLC,
is an entirely different entity from Houston Landscaping. ARGIRES has no known ownership
interest in or current affiliation with Greater Houston Landscaping, LLC.
Disbursement and Use of the PPP Loan Funds from Bank 1
57. The Bank 1 PPP loan was ultimately funded in the amount of$160,657. These PPP
loan funds were deposited into Houston Landscaping's business account on or about May 1, 2020.
58. Investigators reviewed Houston Landscaping's bank records through the date of
June 29, 2020. Between May 1, 2020 and June 29, 2020, there appear to have been no wage
payments made from that account. Investigators were unable to identify any transactions for
payroll expenses, mortgage interest payments, lease payments, or utilities, which constitute the
only allowable use of PPP loan proceeds. Some debits were in fact made from the account during
this period, but none of these appear to relate to any permissible PPP purposes.
59. Additionally, in June 2020, a series of ATM withdrawals was made from the
Houston Landscaping business account. On or about June 14, 2020, a withdrawal of $1,000 was
made from an ATM in Houston. Thereafter, five additional ATM withdrawals occurred, each for
$1,500, and each at ATMs in Houston. These withdrawals appear to have taken place on or about
June 18, June 21, June 25, June 26, and June 27, 2020.
60. As of June 29, 2020, approximately $152,156.80 remained m the Houston
Landscaping business account at Bank 1.
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