Indictment — No. 2:22-cr-00344 (Dkt. 49, E.D.N.Y.)
Summary
A superseding indictment filed April 19, 2023 as Document 49 in United States v. Rami Saab, also known as "Rami Hasan", Cr. No. 22-344 (S-1) (GRB) (JMW) (Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW), in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The introduction describes the COVID-19 pandemic, the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. Count One is captioned Disaster Relief Fraud, Count Two False Statements to the Small Business Administration, Count Three Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, Counts Four through Twenty-Four Wire Fraud and Count Twenty-Five Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering, followed by forfeiture allegations.
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“Indictment — No. 2:22-cr-00344 (Dkt. 49, E.D.N.Y.).”
Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/indictment-no-2-22-cr-00344-dkt-49-e-d-n-y-7c7dc03b04/
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Case 2:22-cr-00344-GRB-JMW Document 49 Filed 04/19/23 Page 1 of 13 PageID #:
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MRM:AXB
F. #2020R00902
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
-----------------------------X
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA SUPERSEDING
INDICTMENT
- against -
Cr. No. 22-344 (S-1) (GRB) (JMW)
RAMISAAB, (T. 18, U.S.C., §§ 981(a)(l)(C), 982(a)(l),
also known as "Rami Hasan," and 982(b)(l), 1014, 1040(a)(2), 1040(b)(l),
1343, 1349, 1956(h), 2 and 3551 et seq.;
T. 21, U.S.C. , § 853(p); T. 28, U.S.C.,
§ 2461(c))
Defendants.
-----------------------------X
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES:
INTRODUCTION
At all times relevant to this Superseding Indictment, unless othe1w ise indicated:
The COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States
1. In or about December 2019, a novel coronavims, SARS-CoV-2 (the
"coronavims") caused outbreaks of the coronavirus disease COVID-19 that spread globally. On
or about Januaiy 31, 2020, the Secretaiy of Health and Human Se1vices declared a national
public health emergency under 42 U.S.C. § 247d as a result of the spread of COVID-19 to and
within the United States. On or about March 11, 2020, the Director-General of the World
Health Organization characterized COVID-19 as a pandemic. On or about March 13, 2020, the
President of the United States issued Proclamation 9994 declaring a national emergency
beginning on March 1, 2020, as a result of the rapid spread of COVID-19 within the United
States.
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The Paycheck Protection Program
2. On or about March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act. The CARES Act was a
federal law 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.
3. To obtain a PPP loan, qualifying businesses were required to submit a PPP
loan application, which was signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP
loan application required recipient businesses, through an authorized representative, to
acknowledge the program rules and make certain affirmative certifications to establish eligibility
for the PPP loan. For example, in the PPP loan application, recipient businesses, through an
authorized representative, were required to state, among other things, their average monthly
payroll expenses and number of employees. These figures were used to calculate the amount of
money the businesses were eligible to receive under the PPP. The recipient businesses were
also required to provide documentation supporting the information contained in the PPP loan
application.
4. PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by the recipient businesses on
certain permissible expenses, to wit: payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The
PPP allowed the interest and principal on a PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the recipient
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businesses spent the loan proceeds on these expense items within a designated period of time
after receiving the proceeds and used a certain percentage for payroll costs.
5. The PPP was overseen by the Small Business Administration (“SBA”),
which had authority over all PPP loans. Individual PPP loans, however, were issued and
approved by private lenders, which received and processed PPP loan applications and supporting
documentation and, following SBA approval, made loans using the lenders’ own funds.
The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program
6. The Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (“EIDL”) was an SBA
program that provided low-interest financing to small businesses, renters and homeowners in
regions affected by declared disasters. The CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs
of up to $2,000,000 to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruption due
to the COVID-19 pandemic.
7. 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. Sole proprietors were eligible for EIDLs so long
as they had verifiable business income during the 12-month period preceding the disaster.
8. In the case of EIDLs for COVID-19 relief, the 12-month period was the
period preceding 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 applicant’s knowledge.
9. EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA and processed by
the SBA, in some instances with support from a government contractor, Rapid Finance. The
amount of the loan, if the application was approved, was determined based, in part, on the
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information provided in the application about employment, revenue and cost of goods, as
described above. Any funds issued under an EIDL 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.
The Defendants and Their Fraud Scheme
10. The defendant RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” was a resident
of Glen Cove, New York.
SAAB and
- were associated with
numerous corporate entities (the “Subject Entities”), through which they committed the fraud
described herein.
11. On or about and between May 1, 2020 and the date of this Superseding
Indictment, both dates being approximate and inclusive, the defendants RAMI SAAB and
engaged in a scheme to defraud the SBA and several financial institutions
administering the PPP program of federal COVID-19 emergency relief funds meant for
distressed small businesses. It was a part of the scheme to defraud that SAAB and
- ,
together with others, submitted or caused to be submitted at least twenty online loan applications
to obtain funds through the PPP and EIDL programs for the Subject Entities. It was further a
part of the scheme to defraud that these loan applications and certain supporting documentation
contained materially false and fraudulent information, including, but not limited to, the Subject
Entities’ number of employees, payroll costs and intended use of the loan proceeds, all of which
was specifically designed to mislead the SBA and financial institutions administering the PPP
and EIDL programs into disbursing various loans, which they did.
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12. In total, on or about and between May 1, 2020 and the date of this
Superseding Indictment, both dates being approximate and inclusive, as a result of this
fraudulent scheme, the SBA and financial institutions administering the PPP and EIDL programs
wire-transferred sums totaling approximately $9,668,508 in PPP and EIDL loans for the Subject
Entities to bank accounts as to which the defendants RAMI SAAB and had
access and control at bank branches in the Eastern District of New York and elsewhere.
13. Shortly after receiving these loan proceeds, the defendants RAMI SAAB
and , together with others, engaged in numerous financial transactions
designed to conceal the true nature and source of the funds, including electronically transferring
certain of the loan proceeds between various bank accounts as to which SAAB and
access and control. SAAB and
- -
then utilized the laundered loan proceeds to enrich
themselves and others, including by personally making cash withdrawals and transferring funds
had
to associates overseas.
COUNT ONE
(Disaster Relief Fraud)
14. The allegations contained in paragraphs one through thirteen are realleged
and incorporated as if fully set forth in this paragraph.
15. On or about and between May 1, 2020 and the date of this Superseding
Indictment, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the Eastern District of New York
and elsewhere, the defendants RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” and
together with others, did knowingly and
intentionally make one or more materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and
representations, and make and use one or more false writings and documents knowing the same
to contain materially false, fictitious, and fraudulent statements and representations, in
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connection with a procurement of property and services related to an emergency declaration
under Section 501 of the Stafford Act, to wit: Proclamation 9994 of March 13, 2020 by the
President of the United States of America Declaring a National Emergency Concerning a Novel
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak, which benefits were authorized, transported,
transmitted, transferred, disbursed and paid in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1040(a)(2), 1040(b)(1), 2 and
3551 et seq.)
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to the Small Business Administration)
16. The allegations contained in paragraphs one through thirteen are realleged
and incorporated as if fully set forth in this paragraph.
17. On or about and between May 1, 2020 and the date of this Superseding
Indictment, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the Eastern District of New York
and elsewhere, the defendants RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” and
together with others, did knowingly make
one or more false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of the SBA in
connection with an application, advance, discount, purchase, purchase agreement, repurchase
agreement, commitment, loan and insurance agreement and application for insurance and a
guarantee, and any change and extension of any of the same, by renewal, deferment of action or
otherwise, and the acceptance, release and substitution of security therefor, to wit: SAAB and
- provided false information in fraudulent PPP and EIDL loan applications to induce the
SBA to approve loans to the Subject Entities.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1014, 2 and 3551 et seq.)
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COUNT THREE
(Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud)
18. The allegations contained in paragraphs one through thirteen are realleged
and incorporated as if fully set forth in this paragraph.
19. On or about and between May 1, 2020 and the date of this Superseding
Indictment, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the Eastern District of New York
and elsewhere, the defendants RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” and
together with others, did knowingly and
intentionally conspire to devise a scheme and artifice to defraud the SBA and several financial
institutions administering the PPP and EIDL programs of federal COVID-19 emergency relief
funds meant for distressed small businesses, and to obtain money and property from the SBA and
the financial institutions, by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations
and promises, and for the purpose of executing such scheme and artifice, to transmit and cause to
be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate and foreign commerce, writings,
signs, signals, pictures and sounds, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1349 and 3551 et seq.)
COUNTS FOUR THROUGH TWENTY-FOUR
(Wire Fraud)
20. The allegations contained in paragraphs one through thirteen are realleged
and incorporated as if fully set forth in this paragraph.
21. On or about the dates set forth below, within the Eastern District of New
York and elsewhere, the defendants RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” and
together with others, did
knowingly and intentionally devise a scheme and artifice to defraud the SBA and several
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financial institutions administering the PPP and EIDL programs, and to obtain money and
property from the SBA and the financial institutions, by means of one or more materially false
and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, and for the purpose of executing such
scheme and artifice did transmit and cause to be transmitted, by means of wire communication in
interstate commerce, one or more writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds, as set forth
below:
Count Approximate Date Description of Wire Transmission
of Wire
Transmission
FOUR May 30, 2020 Electronic submission of EIDL loan application to the
SBA
FIVE June 2, 2020 Electronic submission of EIDL loan application to the
SBA
SIX June 13, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Bank
of America
SEVEN June 17, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Citibank
EIGHT June 18, 2020 Electronic submission of EIDL loan application to the
SBA
NINE June 20, 2020 Electronic submission of EIDL loan application to the
SBA
TEN June 22, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Kabbage, Inc.
ELEVEN June 22, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Cross
River Bank
TWELVE June 24, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Kabbage, Inc.
THIRTEEN June 27, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Kabbage, Inc.
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FOURTEEN June 28, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Kabbage, Inc.
FIFTEEN June 29, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Kabbage, Inc.
SIXTEEN June 29, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Cross
River Bank
SEVENTEEN July 18, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Chase
Bank
EIGHTEEN July 27, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Citibank
NINETEEN July 30, 2020 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
Citibank
TWENTY February 3, 2021 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Cross
River Bank
TWENTY- March 18, 2021 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Chase
ONE Bank
TWENTY- March 30, 2021 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to
TWO Customers Bank
TWENTY- May 7, 2021 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Blue
THREE Ridge Bank
TWENTY- May 24, 2021 Electronic submission of PPP loan application to Blue
FOUR Ridge Bank
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1343, 2 and 3551 et seq.)
COUNT TWENTY-FIVE
(Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering)
22. The allegations contained in paragraphs one through thirteen are realleged
and incorporated as if fully set forth in this paragraph.
23. On or about and between May 1, 2020 and the date of this Superseding
Indictment, both dates being approximate and inclusive, within the Eastern District of New York
and elsewhere, the defendants RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” and
-
together with others, did knowingly and
intentionally conspire to conduct one or more financial transactions in and affecting interstate
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and foreign commerce, including deposits, transfers and withdrawals of funds and monetary
instruments, which in fact involved the proceeds of specified unlawful activity, to wit: wire fraud,
in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, knowing that the property involved in
the financial transactions represented the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, and
knowing that the transactions were designed in whole and in part to conceal and disguise the
nature, location, source, ownership and control of the proceeds of specified unlawful activity,
and to avoid one or more transaction reporting requirements under State and Federal law,
contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(a)(1)(B)(i) and 1956(a)(1)(B)(ii).
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1956(h) and 3551 et seq.)
CRIMINAL FORFEITURE ALLEGATION
AS TO COUNTS TWO THROUGH TWENTY-FOUR
24. The United States hereby gives notice to the defendants that, upon their
conviction of any of the offenses charged in Count Two through Count Twenty-Four, the
government will seek forfeiture in accordance with Title 18, United States Code, Section
981(a)(1)(C) and Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c), which require any person
convicted of such offenses to forfeit any property, real or personal, constituting, or derived from,
proceeds obtained directly or indirectly as a result of such offenses.
25. If any of the above-described forfeitable property, as a result of any act or
omission of the defendants:
(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
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(e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided
without difficulty;
it is the intent of the United States, pursuant to Title 21, United States Code, Section 853(p), to
seek forfeiture of any other property of the defendants up to the value of the forfeitable property
described in this forfeiture allegation.
(Title 18, United States Code, Section 981(a)(1)(C); Title 21, United States Code,
Section 853(p); Title 28, United States Code, Section 2461(c))
CRIMINAL FORFEITURE ALLEGATION
AS TO COUNT TWENTY-FIVE
26. The United States hereby gives notice to the defendants that, upon their
conviction of the offense charged in Count Twenty-Five, the government will seek forfeiture in
accordance with Title 18, United States Code, Section 982(a)(1), which requires any person
convicted of such offense to forfeit any property, real or personal, involved in such offense, or
any property traceable to such property.
27. If any of the above-described forfeitable property, as a result of any act or
omission of the defendants:
(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;
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)(1), to seek forfeiture of any other
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property of the defendants up to the value of the forfeitable property described in this forfeiture
allegation.
(Title 18, United States Code, Sections 982(a)(1) and 982(b)(1); Title 21, United
States Code, Section 853(p))
A TRUE BILL
FOREPERSON
_________________________________
BREON PEACE
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
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F.#: 2020R00902
FORM DBD-34 No.
JUN 85
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN District of NEW YORK
CRIMINAL DIVISION
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
vs.
RAMI SAAB, also known as “Rami Hasan,” and
Defendants.
SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT
(T. 18, U.S.C., §§ 981(a)(1)(C), 982(a)(1), 982(b)(1), 1014, 1040(a)(2),
1040(b)(1), 1343, 1349, 1956(h), 2 and 3551 et seq.; T. 21, U.S.C.,
§ 853(p); T. 28, U.S.C., § 2461(c))
A true bill.
________________________________________
Foreperson
Filed in open court this _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ day,
of _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A.D. 20 _ _ _ _ _
_______________________________________
Clerk
Bail, $ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_________________________________
Michael R. Maffei / Anthony Bagnuola, Assistant U.S. Attorneys (631) 715-7890/7849
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