Indictment — United States v. Mack Devon Knight, Southern District of Georgia (Document 3)

Summary

An indictment against Mack Devon Knight, Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC, filed October 5, 2021 as Document 3 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, Brunswick Division. Counts One and Two charge wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2 over online EIDL applications submitted on or about February 18, 2021 for Knight's Tax Services and on or about March 12, 2021 for Daddy Earl's Kitchen, which the indictment alleges falsely reported gross revenues of $387,000 and $287,000. Count Three charges a false document under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1001(a)(3) and 2 over an altered bank document, and Count Four charges a false statement on a loan application under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1014 and 2. Count Five charges a monetary transaction under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1957 and 2 over a $46,425 wire for a Mercedes Benz S-Class sedan; the indictment states the SBA deposited $149,900 on or about March 8, 2021.

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Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document 3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 1 of 10

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA
BRUNSWICK DIVISION

Application re
18 U.S.C. § 1957 =

Monetary Transaction of
Criminally Derived Property

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ) INDICTMENT NO. :
) -
v. ) us.c.gisa «=CR?2Z2, 004 3
) Wire Fraud
MACK DEVON KNIGHT ) ° _
) False Document oe -_
)
)
)
)
)
)

THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:

At times relevant to this Indictment:

Background

ibs The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was a
federal law enacted in or about March 2020 designed to provide emergency financial
assistance to the millions who are suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-.
19 pandemic.

Zs Among other relief efforts, the United States sought to provide financial
support to eligible businesses that could be used to offset certain business expenses.

3. Defendant MACK DEVON KNIGHT fraudulently sought and received
over one hundred thousand dollars in relief payments by making false and fraudulent

representations to the Small Business Administration (“SBA”).
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document 3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 2 of 10

The Defendant and His Businesses

4. KNIGHT was an individual residing in Camden County, Georgia, in the
Brunswick Division of the Southern District of Georgia. KNIGHT held himself out as a
pastor, mortician, restaurateur, and tax preparer.

5. “Knight’s Tax Services, Inc.” was a domestic profit corporation that was
registered with the State of Georgia beginning on or around February 6, 2021. “Knight’s
Tax Services, Inc.” was registered as having a principal office address in Camden
County, Georgia, in the Brunswick Division of the Southern District of Georgia.
KNIGHT was the corporation’s registered agent.

6. “Daddy Earl’s Kitchen, Inc.” was a domestic profit corporation that was
registered with the State of Georgia beginning on or around March 9, 2021. “Daddy
Earl’s Kitchen, Inc.” was registered as having a principal office address in Camden
County, Georgia, in the Brunswick Division of the Southern District of Georgia.
KNIGHT was the corporation’s registered agent.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act

7. The SBA was an executive branch agency of the United States government
that provided support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The SBA was
headquartered in Washington, DC and maintained its computer servers outside of the
State of Georgia. The SBA’s mission 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.

8. As part of this effort, the SBA enabled and provided for loans through

banks, credit unions, and other lenders. These loans have government-backed
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 3 of 10

guarantees. In addition, the SBA provided loans that came directly from the U.S.
Government.

9. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization for
the SBA to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDL’) to eligible small businesses
experiencing substantial financial disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

10. In order to obtain an EIDL, a qualifying business had to submit an online
application to the SBA and provide information about its operations, such as the number
of employees, gross revenues for the twelve-month period preceding the disaster, and
the cost of goods the business sold in the twelve-month period preceding the disaster. In
the case of EIDLs, the twelve-month period was that preceding January 31, 2020. The
applicant also had to certify that all the information in its application was true and
correct to the best of the applicant's knowledge.

11. EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA online at
https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/ and processed by the agency with support from a
government contractor, Rapid Finance. The amount of each loan was determined based,
in part, on the information provided by the application about employment, revenue, and
cost of goods, as described above. Any funds issued under an EIDL were issued directly
by the SBA.

12. EIDL funds could be used for payroll expenses, sick leave, production costs,

and business obligations, such as debts, rent, and mortgage payments.
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document 3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 4 of 10

COUNTS ONE AND TWO
Wire Fraud
18 U.S.C. §§ 1343 and 2

13. The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference the allegations in
paragraphs 1 through 12 of this Indictment.
14, Beginning on or about February 2021 and continuing until on or about
March 2021, in the Southern District of Georgia, and elsewhere, the Defendant.
MACK DEVON KNIGHT
did knowingly devise and intend to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud the United
States government, and to obtain money and property, by means of materially false and
fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
The Object of the Scheme
15. The object of the scheme described in Paragraph 14 for KNIGHT was to
unjustly enrich himself by obtaining EIDL proceeds under false and fraudulent
pretenses, including by making false statements about his businesses’ gross revenues
for the twelve-month period prior to the date of the disaster.
Manner and Means
16. It was part of the scheme that, on or about the dates set forth below,
KNIGHT submitted, or caused to be submitted, multiple electronic applications for
EIDLs from the SBA at https://covid19relief.sba.gov/#/:
a. On or about February 18, 2021, KNIGHT submitted, or caused to be
submitted, an electronic application for an EIDL from the SBA (“EIDL
Application -3546”) on behalf of Knight’s Tax Services. In connection

with EIDL Application -3546, KNIGHT falsely affirmed that the
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 5 of 10

business had $387,000 in gross revenues in the twelve months prior to
January 31, 2020.

b. On or about March 12, 2021, KNIGHT submitted, or caused to be
submitted, an electronic application for an EIDL from the SBA (“‘“EIDL
Application -3480”) on behalf of Daddy Earl’s Kitchen. In connection
with EIDL Application -3480, KNIGHT falsely affirmed that the
business had $287,000 in gross revenues in the twelve months prior to
January 31, 2020.

17. On or about March 8, 2021, in reliance on KNIGHT’s false
representations in EIDL Application -3546 on behalf of Knight’s Tax Services, the SBA
deposited $149,900 into a bank account in Knight’s Tax Services’ name at “Bank 1” in
the form of an EIDL.

The Wirings

18. Onor about the dates set forth below, in Camden County, in the Southern
District of Georgia, KNIGHT, for the purpose of executing the scheme described above,
and attempting to do so, caused to be transmitted by means of wire communication in
interstate commerce the signals and sounds described below for each count, each

transmission constituting a separate count:

COUNT | APPROXIMATE DATE DESCRIPTION
Online submission of EIDL Application
1 February 18, 2021 -3546 on behalf of Knight’s Tax Services
Online submission of EJDL Application
-3480 on behalf of Daddy Earl’s Kitchen

2 March 12, 2021

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343 and 2.
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document 3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 6 of 10

COUNT THREE
False Document
18 U.S.C. §§ 1001(a)(3) and 2

19. The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference the allegations in
paragraphs 1 through 12 of this Indictment.

20. On or about March 1, 2021, in the Southern District of Georgia, the
Defendant

MACK DEVON KNIGHT

did willfully and knowingly make and use a false writing and document, knowing the
same to contain a materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statement and entry in a
matter within the jurisdiction of the executive branch of the Government of the United
States, by transmitting to the SBA a bank document that had been altered to reflect —
that Knight’s Tax Services had opened its account with “Bank 1” on February 2, 2019,
when in fact, as KNIGHT then and there well knew, the transmitted bank document
had been altered and that Knight’s Tax Services’ account with Bank 1 was not opened
until 2021.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001(a)(8) and 2.
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 7 of 10

COUNT FOUR
False Statement on Loan Application
18 U.S.C. §§ 1014 and 2

21. The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference the allegations in
paragraphs 1 through 12 of this Indictment.

22. On or about March 2, 2021, in the Southern District of Georgia, the
Defendant

MACK DEVON KNIGHT

did knowingly make a false statement for the purpose of influencing the action of the
SBA, in connection with an EIDL application and loan in that KNIGHT entered into a
loan agreement with the SBA on behalf of Knight’s Tax Services in which KNIGHT
certified that Knight’s Tax Services’ EIDL application and supplementary submissions
were true, correct, and complete, when in fact, as KNIGHT then and there well knew,
Knight's Tax Services’ EIDL application reported a false gross revenue figure and that
KNIGHT had submitted a falsified bank document as a supplementary submission to

the SBA.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1014 and 2.
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 8 of 10

COUNT FIVE
Monetary Transaction of Criminally Derived Property
18 U.S.C. §§ 1957 and 2

23. The Grand Jury re-alleges and incorporates by reference the allegations in
paragraphs 1 through 12 of this Indictment.

24. On or about March 18, 2021, in the Southern District of Georgia, and
elsewhere, the Defendant

| MACK DEVON KNIGHT

did knowingly engage and attempt to engage in a monetary transaction of wiring
$46,425 from “Bank 1” to “Car Dealer 1” in exchange for a Mercedes Benz S-Class sedan,
by, through, and to a financial institution, affecting interstate commerce, in criminally
derived property of a value greater than $10,000, such property having been derived
from a specified unlawful activity, to wit, the proceeds of making a false statement ona
loan application, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1957 and 2.
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 9 of 10

FORFEITURE ALLEGATION

The allegations contained in Counts One through Five this Indictment are hereby
re-alleged and incorporated by reference for the purpose of alleging forfeiture pursuant
to Title 18, United States Code, Sections 981(a)(1)(C), 982(a) and Title 28, United States
Code, Section 2461(c). Upon conviction of any of the Title 18 offenses set forth in Counts
One and Two of this Indictment, the Defendant MACK DEVON KNIGHT shall forfeit
to the United States pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C), any
property, real or personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the
charged offense. Additionally, upon conviction of any of the title 18 offenses set forth in
Counts Three through Five of this Indictment, the Defendant MACK DEVON KNIGHT
shall forfeit to the United States pursuant to Title 18, United States Code, Section
982(a), real or personal, that constitutes or is derived, directly or indirectly, from gross
proceeds traceable to the commission of the offense(s).

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

e. has been commingled with other property that cannot be divided without
difficulty,

the United States of America shall be entitled to forfeiture of substitute property

pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), as incorporated by 28 U.S.C. § 2461(0).
Case 2:21-cr-00043-LGW-BWC Document 3 Filed 10/05/21 Page 10 of 10

David H. Estes
Acting United States Attorney

E. Greg Gilluly, Jr.
Assistant United States Attorney
Deputy Chief, Criminal Division

10

A True Bill.

"0 atha A. Porter
nt United States Attorney
et Counsel

tas —

Patfick J. Schwedler
Assistant United States Attorney
*Co-lead Counsel


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