Criminal Complaint — United States v. Diana Valteri and Edmond Haxhillari, Mag. No. 23-9238 (D.N.J.)
Summary
FBI Special Agent Victor Camaya swore to this criminal complaint against Diana Valteri and Edmond Haxhillari by telephone before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor on the 26th day of June, 2023 (Mag. No. 23-9238, D.N.J.). Count One charges wire fraud over an EIDL application for IMC Furniture LLC dated 6/16/2020 that requested approximately $24,000 in loans and approximately $6,000 as an advance. Count Two charges money laundering over a check for approximately $96,000 deposited on or about July 23, 2020. The affidavit alleges that Valteri and Haxhillari, a married couple in Sparta, New Jersey, applied through six shell entities with no actual business operations, sought approximately $790,000 in COVID-19 emergency relief loans and cash advances, and moved over $200,000 to Valteri's personal investment account. It puts losses to the SBA at approximately $790,000.
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2021R01287/FMC
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Hon. Cathy L. Waldor
v. Mag. No. 23-9238
DIANA VALTERI and CRIMINAL COMPLAINT
EDMOND HAXHILLARI
I, Victor Camaya, being duly sworn, state the following is true and correct to
the best of my knowledge and belief:
SEE ATTACHMENT A
I further state that I am a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of
Investigation, and that this Complaint is based on the following facts:
SEE ATTACHMENT B
continued on the attached pages and made a part hereof.
~
Victor Camaya, Special Agent
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Special Agent Victor Camaya, attested to this Affidavit by telephone pursuant to
F.R.C.P. 4.l(B)(2)(A) on this 26th day of June, 2023.
Hon.~y L. Waldor
United States Magistrate Judge
1
ATTACHMENT A
COUNT ONE
(Wire Fraud)
From in or around June 2020 through in and around August 2020, in Sussex
County, in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere, defendants
DIANA VALTERI and
EDMOND HAXHILLARI
knowingly and intentionally devised and intended to devise a scheme and artifice to
defraud, with the common goal to defraud the Small Business Administration by way
of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan ("EIDL") program, and to obtain money and
property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and
promises, and, for the purpose of executing and attempting to execute such scheme
and artifice, did transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire
communications in interstate and foreign commerce, the following writing, sign,
signal, picture, and sound:
Approx. Date Description of Wire
EIDL application for IMC Furniture LLC submitted from New
Jersey via interstate wire to servers located in Iowa,
6/16/2020 requesting approximately $24,000 in loans and approximately
$6,000 as an advance.
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 2.
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COUNT TWO
(Money Laundering)
On or about July 23, 2020, in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere,
defendant
DIANA VALTERI and
EDMOND HAXHILLARI
did knowingly engage and attempt to engage in a monetary transaction by, through,
and to a financial institution, affecting interstate and foreign commerce, in criminally
derived property of a greater value than $10,000, that is, causing a check for
approximately $96,000 from a joint bank account ending in 3833 to be deposited into
a joint checking account ending in 7515, such property having been derived from a
specified unlawful activity, that is, wire fraud in violation of Title 18, United States
Code, Section 1343.
In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1957 and 2.
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ATTACHMENT B
I, Victor Camaya, am a Special Agent of the Federal Bureau of
Investigations. The information contained in the complaint is based upon my
personal knowledge, as well as information obtained from other sources, including:
(a) statements made or reported by various witnesses with knowledge of relevant
facts; (b) my review of publicly available information; and (c) my review of evidence,
including, business records, bank records, and other documents. Because this
complaint is being submitted for a limited purpose, I have not set forth every fact that
I know concerning this investigation. Where the contents of documents and the
actions and statements of others are reported, they are reported in substance and in
part, except where otherwise indicated. Where I assert that an event took place on a
particular date, I am asserting that it took place on or about the date alleged.
Overview
1. From in or around June 2020 through in or around August 2020,
defendants Diana Valteri (Valteri) and Edmond Haxhillari (Ha:xhillari, collectively
"the Defendants"), were a married couple who participated in a fraudulent scheme to
receive approximately $790,000 in COVID-19 emergency relief loans and cash
advances meant for distressed small businesses under the Economic Injury Disaster
Loan ("EIDU') program. The Defendants submitted false and fraudulent loan
applications on behalf of entities that purported to have employees and revenue, but
were actually shell companies with no actual business operations. After receiving the
EIDL funds based on their fraud, the Defendants diverted the proceeds for their own
personal gain.
Background
The EIDL Program
2. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act was
a federal law enacted in or around March 2020 designed to provide emergency
financial assistance to millions of Americans suffering economic effects caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the
authorization of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan ("EIDL") program. EIDL was a
Small Business Administration ("SBA") program that provided low-interest financing
to small businesses, renters, and homeowners in regions affected by declared
disasters.
3. In order to obtain an EIDL, a qualifying business was required to submit
an application to the SBA and provide information about its operations, such as the
number of employees, gross revenues for the 12-month period preceding the disaster,
and cost of goods sold in the 12-month period preceding the disaster. In the case of
EIDLs for COVID-19 relief, the 12-month period constituted the 12 months preceding
January 31, 2020. In addition, the business entity must have existed m an
operational condition on February 1, 2020.
4. The amount of the EIDL was determined based, in part, on the
information the applicant provided regarding the revenue, employees, and cost of
goods of the company. The SBA directly issued any funds disbursed under an EIDL
to the applicant company. A company was permitted to use EIDL funds for payroll
expenses, sick leave, production costs, and business obligations, such as debts, rent,
and mortgage payments.
5. EIDL applications were received in cloud-based platforms. The location
of the server through which the EIDL application was submitted was based on the
date the application was processed by SBA and the application number. During the
period relevant to this Information, all EIDL applications and supporting documents
were received in a cloud-based platform through SBA servers in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Defendants and Their Shell Entities
6. At all times relevant to this Criminal Complaint:
a. Valteri and Haxhillari resided together in Sparta, New Jersey
and fraudulent applied for EIDL loans though the following shell entities that
purportedly did business in New Jersey (collectively, the "Fraud Entities"):
1. IMC Furniture LLC ("IMC");
11. Elite Empire Construction, LLC ("Elite");
m. Diana Valteri Accounting a/k/a Diana Accounting (''Valteri
Accounting'');
1v. Igli's Express DBA (''Igli's Express"), which purportedly
provided limousine and transportation services;
v. Edmond Haxhillari ("Haxhillari Entity''), which purportedly
provided appraisal services;
vi. DValteri a/k/a Dvalteri Best Service ("Dvalteri Best"), which
purportedly provided appraisal services.
The Scheme to Defraud
7. From in or around June 2020 through in or around August 2020, Valteri
and/or Haxhillari submitted, or caused to be submitted, fraudulent loan applications
from each of the Fraud Entities to the SBA in order to obtain funds through the EIDL
program. Each application listed one or both of the Defendants' contact information.
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Moreover, IP data showed that each application was prepared and submitted via the
SBA's online portal from the Defendants' shared address in Sparta, New Jersey (the
"Defendants' Address") to SBA servers located in or around Des Moines, Iowa.
8. The Defendants' EIDL applications for each of the Fraud Entities were
submitted on or about the following dates, listed one or more of the Defendants as the
signing applicant and/or company owner, and resulted in the following approximate
payouts by the SBA:
Name of
Application Defendants' Name(s) on Amount
Fraud Entity
Date Application Funded
on Application
Signor: Haxhillari
$24,000 loan
IMC 6/16/2020 and
Owners: Haxhillari and
$6,000 advance
Valteri
$150,000 loan
Elite 6/18/2020 Signor and owner: Haxhillari and
$10,000 advance
Valteri
7/21/2020 Signor and owner: Valteri $150,000 loan
Accounting
lgli's Express 7/21/2020 Signor and owner: Haxhillari $150,000 loan
DValteri Best 8/7/2020 Signor and owner: Valteri $150,000 loan
Haxhillari
8/7/2020 Signor and owner: Haxhillari $150,000 loan
Entity
9. Each of these applications falsely listed the Fraud Entities' respective
number of employees, annual gross revenues from on or about January 31, 2019, to
on or about January 31, 2020, and costs of goods sold. The reported figures were
substantial. For example, the loan applications for DValteri Best and Haxhillari
Entity-both submitted on or about August 7, 2020-listed identical gross revenue
for each company of approximately $2,150,000.
10. All of those figures, however, were fake. In fact, records from the
Internal Revenue Service and Social Security Administration show that none of
Fraud Entities filed taxes or had any employees from in or around 2018 through in
or around 2020. Nor did the Defendants report any income or losses on their personal
tax returns for any of the Fraud Entities. In short, none of the Fraud Entities had
any actual business-related activity.
11. Based on financial analysis, none of the EIDL funds sent to the Fraud
Entities were used for their intended purpose. Instead, the Defendants diverted the
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funds through a web of personal and joint accounts, which included transferring over
$200,000 in EIDL funds to Valteri's personal investment account.
12. For example, in order to receive the EIDL funds for Elite, discussed
above, the Defendants opened a new joint personal bank account ending with 3833.
Using that account, Defendants received the EIDL advance for Elite on or about June
18, 2020, and the EIDL loan on or about July 9, 2020-totaling approximately
$159,000. Within days, that account was almost entirely liquidated. First, on or about
July 20 and 21, 2020, the Defendants caused approximately $60,000 to be transferred
from the 3833 account to Valteri investment account. Then on or about July 23, 2023,
Valteri signed a check for approximately $96,000 from the 3833 account, which the
Defendants caused to be deposited in their separate joint checking account ending in
7515 at a different bank.
13. In total, the Defendants' fraud scheme resulted in losses to the SBA of
approximately $790,000.
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