Criminal Complaint — United States of America v. Andre Clark, Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH (Dkt. 1, S.D. Fla.)
Summary
IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Michael Benivegna swore the affidavit behind this criminal complaint charging Andre Clark with wire fraud, bank fraud, and attempt and conspiracy to commit them, entered on the Southern District of Florida docket on 08/04/2020. It alleges a scheme, run with a person now cooperating with investigators (CHS 2), to obtain Paycheck Protection Program loans with falsified bank statements and payroll tax forms. The conspirators planned or prepared at least 90 fraudulent applications for loans together worth more than $24 million, at least approximately 42 of which were funded for approximately $17.4 million; recipients often wired a kickback of approximately 25% to an account CHS 2 controlled. The affidavit says Clark's company, Top Choice LLC, received a PPP loan of $488,565.
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
Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 1 of 15
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UNITED STATES D ISTRIC'I'COURT
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Southern Districtot-Florida
United StatesofAmerica
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AndreClark, c-ex-w
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CRIM INAL COM PLAINT
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18U.S.C.âj 1343and2 Wire Fraud
18U.S.C.âj 1344and2 BankFraud
18U.S.C.â1349 Conspiracy/Attempttn CommitW ire and BankFraud
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Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 2 of 15
AFFIDAW T
1,M ichaelBenivegna,being firstduly sworn,hereby depose and state asfollow s:
INTR O DU CH O N AND A G ENT B ACK G R OU ND
Imake thisA ffidavitin supportofa crim inalcom plaintcharging AN D RE CLA RK
('iCLARK''ordûDefendant''),withwirefraud,bankfraud,attemptandconspiracytocolnmitwire
fraudandbankfraud,inviolationof18U.S.C.jj1343,1344,1349,and2,from onoraboutMay
l9,2020,to atleaston oraboutJune 24 2020,in the Southern D istrictofFlorida,and elsewhere
(thettTargetOffenses'').
Defendant has participated in a schem e to obtain by fraud m illions of dollars in
forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (:tPPP'') and other government
programs,conspiringwithapersonnow cooperatingwiththeinvestigationCSCHS2'')andothers.
DefendantobtainedafraudulentPPP loan forhisowncompany,TopChoiceLLC (it-fbpChoice''),
w ith CHS 2 providing falsified docum ents and subm itting the application on Defendant'sbehalf.
Defendantalso conspired to subm ita ntlm berofadditionalfraudtllentPPP loan applicationsfor
othercom paniesby recruitingotherconfederate loan applicants,in orderto receive kickbacksfrom
those confederates. To intlate the size ofthese PPP loans,and the corresponding kickbacks,the
conspirators relied on a variety of false statements, including by subm itting falsified bank
statementsand payrolltax form s. Forexample,the conspiratorsused nearly identicalversionsof
the sam e fabricated bank statem ents,recycled in the PPP applicationsform ultiplecompanieswith
m inorchanges.
The conspirators in the scheme planned or prepared at least 90 fraudulent
applications,mostofwhich w ere subm itted. Based on the evidence investigatorshave review ed
to date,CHS 2,Defendant,and theirco-conspiratorsapplied forPPP loansthataretogetherworth
Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 3 of 15
morethan$24 million dollars,with atleastapproximately 42ofthoseloansapprovedand funded
foratotalofapproximately $17.4 million. Certain ofthoseloanrecipientsthenwired akickback
of varying amounts,often approximately 25% of the f'
raudulent Ioan proceeds,to an account
controlled by CH S 2.
Iam a SpecialAgentwith the United StatesDepartmentOfTheTreasury,Internal
RevenueService,CriminallnvestigationC(1RVCl'')andhavebeenemployedinthiscapacitysince
October2016. lam presently assigw d to the M iam iField Oftk e. M y duties as a SpecialA gent
include theinvestigation ofpossiblecrim inalviolationsofthelnternalRevenue Code (Title26 of
theUnitedStatesCode),theBankSecrecyAct(Title31oftheUnitedStatesCode),andtheMoney
Laundering Statutes (Title l8 of the United States Code).I graduated from the Criminal
InvestigatorTraining Program atthe FederalLaw EnforcementTraining Centerin April20l7 and
the Special A gent lnvestigative Techniques program at the National Crim inal Investigation
Training A cadem y in July 20l7. ln these two program s,Istudied a variety of 1aw enforcem ent
tacticsand crim inalinvestigator techniques relating to tax and financialcrimes.Since becom ing
an IRS-CI SpecialA gent,1have personally investigated and assisted in investigations relating to
the lntenmlRevenue Law sand Gnancialcrim es. Recently,Ihave been assigned to work with the
U.S.DepartmentofJustice and otherlaw enforcementpartners,including the FederalBureau of
lnvestigation and the Sm allBusiness Adm inistration Office of lnspectorGenel-
al,to investigate
possible fraud associated with the stimultls and economic assistance programs created by the
federalgovernmentin responsetothe COVlD-19 program.
5. The facts in thisA ftsdavitcom e from my personalobservations,my training and
experience,and information obtained from otherm em bersoflaw enforcem entand from witnesses.
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ThisA ffidavitis intended to show m erely thatthere issufficientprobable cause and doesnotset
forth a11ofmy know ledge aboutthismatter.l
PRO BABLE CAU SE
The Pqvcheck Protection Proqram
TheCoronavirusAid,Relief,andEconomic Security ('SCARES'')Actisafedeml
law enacted in oraround M arch 2020 and designed to provide emergency fmancialassistance to
the m illions of A mericans who are suffering the econom ic effects caused by the COVlD-19
pandemic. One sourceofreliefprovided bythe CARES Actwastheauthorizmtion Ofup to$349
billion inforgivableloanstosmallbusinessesforjobretentionandcertainotherexpenses,through
aprovam referredtoasthePPP.In oraround April2020,Congressauthorized over$300billion
in additionalPPP funding.
ln order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business m ust subm it a PPP loan
application, which is signed by an authorized representative of the btlsiness. The PPP loan
application requires the business (through itsauthorized representative) to acknowledge the
prop am rulesand make certain afflrm ative certitk ationsin orderto be eligible to obtain the PPP
loan. In thePPP loan application,thesmallbusiness(through itsauthorized representative)must
state,amongotherthings,its:(a)averagemonthlypayrollexpenses;and(b)numberofemployees.
These figtlres are used to calculate the am ountofmoney the sm allbusiness is eligible to receive
under the PPP. ln addition,businesses applying for a PPP loan must provide docum entation
show ingtheirpayrollexpenses.
1 The conductand chargesdescribed in thisA ffidavitare pal4 ofa largerinvestigation that
is being conducted in this D istrict and elsew here. A s a result, not a11 num bered sources and
anonym ous individualsand entitiesare described in every filing. Ihave included in thisA ftldavit
only those individualsand entitiesIhave deemed necessary to explain the particularfactssetforth
here.
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A PPP loan application m ustbe processed by a participating lender. lfa PPP loan
application isapproved,the participating lenderfunds the PPP loan using its own monies,which
are 100% guaranteedbytheSmallBusinessAdministration(:kSBA'').Datafrom theapplication,
including inform ation aboutthe borrower,the totalam ountofthe loan,and the listed num berof
employees,istransm itted by the lenderto the SBA in the course ofprocessing the loan.
PPP loan proceedsm ustbe used by the businesson certain perm issible expenses
payrollcosts,intereston m ortgages,rent,and tltilities. The PPP allowsthe interestand principal
on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven ifthe business spendsthe Ioan proceedson these expense
item sw ithin a designated period oftim e afterreceiving the proceedsand usesa certain amountof
the PPP loan proceedson payrollexpenses.
The Scheme to Obtain FraudulentPPP Loans
10. OnoraboutMay 13,2020,Phillip J.Augtlstin (dçAtlgustin'')and CHS2 worked
togetherto submita fraudulentPPP loan application on behalfofa company ow ned by Augustin.
Augustin submitted a PPP loan of$84,515 to a federally insured bank (hereinafterttBank 3,5),
through a third-party company processor(hereinafteriiBank Processor 15').2 The application
included bank statementsthatareclearforgeries,and CHS 2 hasadm itted thatthe application w as
based on docum entsthathe falsified forA ugustin.3
2 All banks referenced in this A ffidavit are insured by the Federal Deposit lnsurance
Corporation.
3 On June 25,2020,investigatorsarrested CH S 2 and anotherperson now cooperating with
theinvestigation(EiCHS39')andexecutedsearchwarrantsattheirresidences.Followinghisarrest,
CH S 2 chose to cooperate with the investigation in the hope ofobtaining favorable consideration
in connection w ith hispending charges. CH S 2 wasinterviewed on thatday,and hascontinued to
cooperate w ith the investigation afterobtaining counsel. M ost of his statem ents related herein
have been corrobom ted by records obtained from third parties orrecovered from his electronic
devices.
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Follow ing the successofthatinitialfraudulentPPP application,Augustin and CH S
2 began to work on obtaining m ore and larger PPP loans fbr Augustin's associates and others,
generally forseveralhundredthousanddollarsforeachloan,uptoasmuchasapproximately $1.24
million. Based on the evidence investigators have reviewed so far, CHS 2 and Augustin
collectivelycoordinated applicationsforPPP loansthataretogetherworth morethan $24million
dollars.TheevidencealsoshowsmanymorePPP loanswereattempted butrejectedbybanksor
their partners,or w ere planned and prepared, but not stlbm itted before CHS 2's arrest. The
evidence suggests that all or nearly aII of those Ioan applications w ere fraudulent, including
Defendant's loan application and the applicationsDefendantorchestrated by referring additional
confederatesto the conspiracy.
Investigators have obtained m any otlaer PPP loan applications that CH S 2 has
adm itted he subm itted aspartofthisschem e,based on falsified docum ents,and havealso obtained
draftdocumentsusedorintendedtobeused inthoseapplicationsorothers.Theseapplicationsall
follow the same pattern of fraud- many with obviously counterfeit February 2020 bank
statements,and allwith fabricated 1RS Forms941(titled,isEmployer'sQuarterly FederalTax
Return'')withthesameindiciaoffraudfoundinAugustin'sinitialapplication butgenerallywith
even larger inflated payrollnumbers,thus yielding m uch Iarger 1oans.4 CH S 2 has explained to
investigators thatthe figures in the Form s 941 w ere the productofa formula thatallowed him to
startwith atargetloan amount,and then Stback into''the payrollfigureson the form . He explained
how he used figuresthatwouldproducean average m onthly payrollfor2019 that,when m ultiplied
by 2.5,would yield the requested loan am ount. In turn,the numberofem ployees reported w as
4 Som e loan applicationsalso included voided checksthatappearto t)e falsified,such as a
purportedBank5checkthatappearstohavelxenproducedonacomputerand,asthesubjectline
reads,itconverted to PDF,''ratherthan a scan ofan authentic check.
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chosen based on fk tionalpayrollfigures,chosen to avoid an average employee salary thatm ight
raise suspicion.
13. CH S 2 has also explained that he tried to use bank statements show ing that the
com pany had a large balance. Because so few companies had such a statement,and likely also
because itw aseasierthan keepingtrack oftheirtrue statements,CHS 2 repeatedly subm itted near-
replicasofthe sam e falsified bank statem ents. ln particular,CH S 2 appearsto have recycled one
statem ent each from Bank 1,Bank 6,and Bank 7. In recycling a statement,CHS 2 generally
changed only the account num ber and the accotmt holder's nanle and address, such that each
version ofthe statem enthad identicalfiguresand line itemsthroughoutthe statem ent.
A review ofrecordsforbank accountscontrolled by CH S 2 atBank 5 confirm CH S
2'sadm issionsthathe received num erouskickbacks,often ofapproxim ately 25% ofthe am ount
ofthe loans,and thathe regularly w ired Augustin a share ofthatkickback in the early stages of
the schem e. CH S 2 explained thatthey were doing so m any loans by the end of M ay thathe
changed course,instead w iring larger lum p sum s,collecting Augustin's shares ofthe kickbacks
form ultiple loans in one w ire.
lnvestigatorsare stillreceiving and analyzing records,butbased on a prelim inary
analysis,asofJuly 24,2020,investigatorshad identified a totalof$2,367,765.82 intransfersto
CH S 2's accounts from entitiesthateach obtained a sizable PPP loan and thatwere identified in
the PPP files seized from CH S 2'sand anotherco-conspirator'sresidences,asdescribed below
orfrom individualsassociated with those entities.
16. The PPP loans identified above as im plicated in the foregoing kickback paym ents
to CH S 2 representonly a fraction of the overallschem e. In executing search wanunts atthe
respective residences ofCHS 2 and CH S 3,federalagents found stacks ofpaperprinted outand
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organized by entity,containing an tdintake form,''fabricated Form s 941,or both foreach entity.
n e intake form s contained fields for the inform ation needed to fàbricate the documentsand fill
outotheraspectsofthe PPP application:identifying information aboutthe ownerand com pany,
aswellasbank accotlntinform ation forreceiving the loan.A section atthe end m arked EtBELOW
IS OFFICE U SE ONLY''included blank fieldsforthe AtNumberofEm ployees,''t:M onthly Payroll
Expenses''and t:SBA Loan Pre-A pprovalAm ount.'' Betw een CH S 2's and CH S 3'sresidences,
investigatorsseized paperfilesforPPP loan applicationsforapproxim ately 80 differententities.
Data obtained from the SBA showed additional PPP loan applications from
additionalentities that text nw ssage and em ail records show had been referred to CHS 2 by
Defendantorotherindividuals.
TheFraudulentPPP Loan toDefendant'sCbzaplap.Top Choice
18. According to Florida'sDivision ofCorporationswebsite (û1Sunbiz''),Top Choice
LLC($ûTopChoice'')wasincorporatedinoraroundJune20l8.CLARK islistedasthecompany's
presidentand registered agent. The addresslisted on SunbizforTop Choice,4839 SW Volunteer
Road Suite 226,Davie,Florida,isthe sam e address listed forCLARK with Florida'sDepartm ent
ofM otorVehicles. lnvestigatorsvisited thisaddressand were unable to find any businessnam ed
tç-l-op Choice''atthatlocation. Rather,thataddm ss appears to be merely a m ailbox located in a
ttUS Pak-N-ship.''
19. According to Sunbiz, Top Choice was adm inistratively dissolved in or around
September2019 for failure to file an annualreport, ltwasthen reinstated on oraboutM arch 29,
2020,two daysafterthe passage ofthe CA RES Act.
20. According to bank records,on or aboutM ay 19,2020,CLARK visited a bank in
M iram ar,Florida,and opentd businesschecking and savingsaccountsin thename ofTop Choice.
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In opening the accounts,CLARK presented aN orth Carolina driverlicense and,to prove Florida
residence,provided a Florida Power & Lightpow erbillin the nam e of's-l'op Choice''and atthe
sam e address listed forthe company on Sunbiz. 'rhe pow erbillstatesthatthetçl-ate''isfbrSERS-I
ResidentialService.''
CLA RK indicated to the bank that Top Choice had six em ployees and a gross
annualrevenueof$200,000.Howeverythebank recordsfrom theseaccountsrevealatotalof$600
in deposits(and nowithdrawals)forthemonth ofM ay2020.5
22. n e day after CI-ARK opened the Top Choice bank accotlnts, a PPP loan
application packageon behalfofTop Choicewaselectronically subm itted to Bank 3 through Bank
Processorl.Theloanapplicationpackageincluded,amongotherdocuments:(1)purportedForms
94lforallfourquartersof2019in thenameofTop Choice;(2)acompany bankstatementfor
TopChoice;(3)anapplicationform;and(4)apromissorynote.
The purported Form s 94 1 included in the application show quarterly payrollof
morethan$500,000eachquarter,for25employees.ThatquarterlypayrollfigureyieldedthePPP
Ioanapplication'silAverageM onthlyPayroll''figureof$195,426,whichdeterminedthe$488,565
am ountofthe loan.Each w assigned by hand w ith the name'iAndreClark''asthe company owner,
and also listed CLARK as the com pany-s desir ee and as a 'tpaid Preparer,''though he is nota
paid tax preparer.The Top Choice Form s94lfollow the same style and pattern asthe many other
Form s 941 that CH S 2,described above,acknowledged that he helped create and subm it in the
course ofthe schem e,including in the indicia of fraud.6 lR S records shew thatTop Choice did
5 The only activity in June 2020 consisted ofthe depositof the PPP loan proceeds. The
accountswere frozen on oraboutM ay 26,2020.
6 As noted above,CLA RK was listed as both owner and paid preparer. Dozens of other
Form s 941 subm itted in this scheme evidence the sam e error. CH S 2 has adm itted thatthese
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not,in fact,file any Form s941forany quarter of2019 orthe firstquarterof2020,and Florida
Depal-tmentofRevenue recordsshow thatTop Choice did notreportany wagesoremployeesfor
thatsam e period.
The purported company bank statement,w hich w assubm itted in electronic fonnat
isaclearforgery. First,thestatementpurportsto beforthe monthofFebruary 2020,priorto the
datethataccountwasopened. Second,accordingto the docum ent'sfile ltprow rties,''the statement
wascreated using tCPD FFILLER,''a program used to editelectronic PDF tsles,and w asiim odified
using i'rext-''
25. The application form, labeled at the top SlpaymentProtection Program Borrower
A pplication Form,'' listed CLA RK as the owner of Top Choice,claimed the company had 25
employees,and stated thattheaverage monthly payrollwas$195,426. Based on thisfigure,the
amountofthe PPP loan requestwas $488.565. '
I'
he application form required the borrowerto
electronicallyinitialanumberoftscertificationsy''including;(1)thattheapplicantwasinoperation
on February 15,2020 and had employeesto whom itpaid salaries/payrolltaxesorpaid independent
contractors,as reported on Fonmts) 1099;(2)thatthe funds would be used to retainwworkers,
m aintain payroll,or m ake lmodgage/interest/lease/utility payments as specified by the PPP rule
documentssharethatfeaturebecausehemisunderstoodtheform,andhe(orsomeonefollowing
hisinstructions)prepared allofthe Form s94l atissue. The contentofthe forms also indicate
falsification. A llfourquarterly form sare nearly identical,and the fourform sfor Top Choice are
identical,down to the penny,in reported figures.They also evidence apattern ofpayrollspending
thatislikely false:each ofthe quartersshowssignificantincreasesfrom the firstto second to third
m onth ofthe quarter. Foreach identicalform ,the same figuresare reported forthe tax Iiability
incurred in the firstmonth ofeach quarter,the sam e figure forthe second m onth ofeach quarter
(increasedsubstantially from thefirstmonth),andthesamefigureforthethirdmonthofthequarter
(increasedsubstantially from thesecondmonth).Theresultisthatthecompany reportsam rfectly
repeatingcycle ofascending payrollcostsw ithin each quarter. CHS 2 hasexplained thatthisw as
due to a formula he used,allocating differentpercentagesofthe quarterly payrolltax liability to
each month ofeach quarter.
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and thatunauthorized use could resultin chargesforfraud;and (3)thatthe informationprovided
in the application, including in supporting docum ents,w as ittrue and accurate in all material
respectsr''and thatm aking false statem entscould resultin crim inalcharges.'
Fhe application was
electronically signed w ith the name kiAndre Clark,''and each certification was electronically
initialed I:AC.''
26. The prom issory note,labeled atthe top ûipaycheck Protection Program Loan,''set
forththeamountoftheloan($488,565)anditsterms(includingthattheproceedscouldonlybe
used forbusiness purposes). The terms also specified thatthe borrower may apply for loan
forgivenessonly in an am ountequalto thesum ofcertain specified costs:payrollcosts,intereston
m ortgage obligations,rentobligations,and utility paym ents.Theprom issory note furtherspecified
thatnotm ore than 25% of the amount of forgiveness can be attributable to non-payrollcosts.
A dditionally,the prom issory note contained a itRepresenutions and W arm nties''section forthe
borrow er to acknowledge,among otherthings that'ithe information provided in al1supporting
docum ents and form s to obtain this loan''were true and accurate. The prom issory note was
electronically signed with the nam e ''A ndrew Clark.''
Based on the m presentations made in the loan application papenvork and
supporting docum ents,the PPP loan application for Top Choice was approved,and on orabout
June l,2020,Bank 3 wired approxilnately $488,565 in loan proceedsinto theTop Choicebank
account.
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CHS 2 Confirmed toLaw Enforcementthatthe Top ChoicePpp Loan WasFraudulentand
thatCLARK Referred OtherstotheScheme
28. lnvestigatorsspokew ith CHS2 aboutCLARK andtheTopChoicePPP loan.CHS
2 stated thathe had m etCLA RK through A ugustin. According to CH S 2,the three ofthem m et
onanumberofoccasions(sometimesatagasstation inBrowardCounty)anddiscussedCLARK'S
PPP loan,asw ellasCLA RK 'Srefel-rals,forwhich CLA RK would receive a sm allcut.A sstated
above,CHS 2 and Augustin had already agreed to share the 25% kickback paym entsthatCH S 2
would usually receive from referrals,including from CLARK 'Sreferrals.
29. As to the Top Choice PPP loan,CH S 2 confirm ed thatthe Ioan application was
fraudulentand stated that he had assisted CLARK in preparing and subm itting it. Specifk ally,
CH S 2 stated thathe discussed the detailsofthe loan w ith CLARK,including the am ountofthe
loan and the num berofemployeesclaim ed on the application.CH S 2 also explained to CLARK
that he w ould need a bank account and need to hire em ployees in orderto m ake the loan look
legitim ate.
30- Additionally CHS 2 stated thathe:(l)created forCLARK anonline accountfor
TopChoicewithBankProcessor1;(2)cxatedandsubmittedthefakeTopChoicebankstatement;
and (3)created,submitted,and signed (onbehalfofCLARK),thefalse Form s941.Accordingto
CH S 2,he did notrecallsigning the application form orprom issory note,buthe wasuncertain on
thispoint.Bank Processor 1'sIP recordsforthe Top Choice loan application show thatacom puter
withanIP address(endingin l70)associatedwithCH S2'sresidencein Broward County,Florida,
logged into the Top Choice loan accountasearly as M ay l9,2020.
CH S 2 also stated that,in addition to the Top Choice loan,CLARK referred to him
a number of fkiends/associates for the purpose ofcreating and subm itting additionalfraudulent
PPP loans. As stated above,CHS 2 and A ugustin would share the kickback paym ents forthese
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referrals. CH S 2 stated that he did not know how CLARK gotpaid for his referrals butthat
Augustin told him thatCLARK wasgetting a cut.
Emailsand TextM essazesConfirm CLARK 'SKnowinz 'Jrscfplst?a in theFraud
32. As partof its investigation, Iaw enforcem entobtained cornmunications between
CHS 2 and CLARK,incltlding textmessagesand emails. Ihave reviewed a numberofthese
com munications,w hich discuss,among other things,CLARK 'S PPP loan and the loans forthe
individualsand com panieshe referred to CHS 2.
33. Forexample,on oraboutM ay 19,2020,CHS 2 sentCLARK a textmessage that
stated:itl-liAndrethisis(CHS2)lock in my numberlam working on yourt5le lneed social
security num berand date ofbirth.'' CLARK responded w ith his date of birth and socialsecurity
num ber. Thatsam e day,CLA RK texted CH S 2 hisem ailaddress,and CH S 2 responded:tkcheck
youremailand activate youraccountJustopen em ailand click the link.''
On oraboutM ay 20,2020,CLA RK forwarded CHS 2 an em ailhe had received
from BankProcessorlwiththesubject,ddYouhaveanofferforthePaycheckProtectionProgram.''
The em ail stated:ddAndre, the SBA has finished review ing your application and you've been
approved for your Paycheck Protection Program loan. A ccept your offer to access m ore
inform ation,includingthe nextsteps.''The emailincluded a link button to clickslabeled SiAccept.''
35. On oraboutM ay 20,2020,CLA RK separately texted CHS 2 w ith inform ation that
appearsto relate to a differentfraudulentloan application.In the textm essage,CLA RK provided:
(1)asocialsecurity number;(2)dateofbirth;(3)emailaddress;(4)businessstartdate;and(5)
state of incorpomtion. (CHS 2 explained that CLARK was serving as a refkrralsource,or
middleman,between CHS 2 and the applicant,in exchange fora smallfke). Aflergetting the
information from CLAR K,CH S 2 responded thathe needed a check from the business. CLARK
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asked by textm essage:*tshould he go to the bank in the m orning and gettem porary checkswhile
heordersomel?l,''towhichCHS2respondedislylesweneedcheck.''
36. On oraboutM ay 27,2020,CLARK senta textm essage to CH S 2 w ith information
regarding another,differentreferral.n isinform ation provided by CLARK included,among other
things'
.(l)theindividual'sname,address,dateofbirth,socialsecuritynumber,ande-mailaddress'
,
(2)theindividual'sbusinessname,businessaddress,EIN,andbusinessstartdate;and (3)bank
accountand routing num bers. On oraboutM ay 28,2020,regarding this sam e referral,CH S 2
texted CI-ARK thathe needed i$a february statem entfrom hercreditunion m ake sure ifshe cant
download and send in pdfshe takesa good picture ofitso ican modify it.''
O n oraboutM ay 30,2020,CLARK texted CHS 2:Etllow m any Igave you so far
thatisworkingbesidestheGrsttwoonesalreadycompleted(...1lwantatleast10morepeople
w ithin the nextfew days.''
38. During my review ofCLA RK'Scom municationsw ith CH S 2,1found w hatappears
to be inform ation pertaining to atleast14 differentindividualsand atleast15 associated corporate
entities. Further investigation,including review ofdata collected by the SBA and bank records,
to datehasidentifiedPPP loanstotaling morethan $3.5million con-espondingto thesenamesand
entities.
CLARK'sBankinz Activitvfba/-
lz.
- HisKnowinz Participation in theFraud
39. 1 have also reviewed Top Choice's and CH S 2's bank records,which confirm
CLARK 'Sreceiptofthe PPP loan proceeds. Specitk ally,on oraboutJune 1,2020,Bank 3 wired
the loan amount,$488,565,into the Top Choice account. As discussed above,however,Top
Choice's accountsw ere frozen on oraboutM ay 26,2020,so CLARK could notaccess the PPP
loan funds.
Page 13 of 14
Case 0:20-mj-06318-PMH Document 1 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/04/2020 Page 15 of 15
According to an investigator at Top Choice-s bank. CI-ARK called the bank
numeroustimesand then visited the bank'sMiramarbranch location inordertogethisaccounts
unffozen. During aphoneconversation w ith CI-ARK . the bank investigatorasked CIaA RK about
the FPL powerbillhe had subm itted w'hen opening hisaccount. which the investigatorbelieved
was a forgery. CLA RK denied ever submitting thc power bill. W hcn the invcstigator asked
CI-ARK abouthis PPP application,CLA RK stated he would need to speak to his accountant,
W hen asked forthe namcofhisaccountantv CLARK would notprovide aname. fêinally,when
theinvestigatortoldCLARK thathisPPPloanwassuspectedasfraudulent, CLARK sim ply stated
*tthank you''and hung up.
CO NCLtISIO N
41, Based on the forgoing.Irespectfullysubmitthattherc isprobablecause to believe
thatANDRE C I-ARK comm itted the TargctOf'
fenscs.
FURTHER YO UR AFFIANT SA YE'I'H NA UGHT
M ICI'IAE1-B EN IVEGNA
SpeciaIAgent
IRS-C I
Attested tobytheapplicantinaccordance
withthtrequirtmentsof Med.R.Crim.P.4.1
bytelephoneonthis X . Day ofAugust.2020
HO'kf.PATRICK M.HUNT '
UNITED STATES M AGISTRATE JtJIX iE
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