Information — United States v. Deon D. Levy and Abdul-Azeem Levy, Northern District of Ohio (Doc. 30)

Summary

A criminal information in United States v. Deon D. Levy and Abdul-Azeem Levy, No. 1:22-cr-00227-DAR, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, filed May 10, 2022 as Doc #: 30. Count 1 charges conspiracy to commit wire fraud under Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, from in or around May 2020 through in or around June 2020. The information alleges fraudulent PPP applications for Apex Now Corp. and Urban Housing Group LLC using falsified bank statements and IRS Forms 941, with kickbacks of approximately 25% of the loan amounts. It lists a $554,232 PPP loan to Apex Now funded on or about May 20, 2020 and an application for a $320,767 loan for Urban Housing. The overt acts end with a June 8, 2020 bank visit at which, the information states, the defendants presented a document with a signature they knew was not genuine.

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“Information — United States v. Deon D. Levy and Abdul-Azeem Levy, Northern District of Ohio (Doc. 30).” Original at archive.org. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/information-no-1-22-cr-00227-dkt-30-n-d-ohio-2f308d1c51/, SHA-256 88860b11b6111a188a6c7d9631356779254d19e228207fd883a0cbf01a13b615.

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Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 1 of 11. PageID #: 126

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
EASTERN DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) INFORMATION
)
Plaintiff, )

v. ) 1 : 22 CR 227
Title 18, United States Code,
DEON D. LEVY, ) Section 371
ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY, 10
CLERK. l/S DIS~fliCT COURT
NCH 1HEtl_N [;ISr.tlCT OF OHIO
JUDGE RUIZ
Defendants. , ,[J: ✓F-iJ1N[)

GENERAL ALLEGATIONS

At all times relevant to this Information, unless otherwise specified:

The Paycheck Protection Program

1. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security ("CARES") Act was 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 forgivable

loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through a program referred

to as the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP").

2. In order to obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business submitted a PPP loan

application, which was signed by an authorized representative of the business. The PPP loan

application required 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
Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 2 of 11. PageID #: 127

loan. In the PPP loan application (Small Business Administration ("SBA") Form 2483), the small

business (through its authorized representative) was required to provide, among other things, its:

(a) average monthly payroll expenses; and (b) number of employees. These figures were used to

calculate the amount of money the small business was eligible to receive under the PPP. In

addition, businesses applying for a PPP loan were required to provide documentation confirming

their payroll expenses.

3. A PPP loan application was processed by a participating lender. If a PPP loan

application was approved, the participating lender funded the PPP loan using its own monies.

While it was the participating lender that issued the PPP loan, the loan was I 00% guaranteed by

the SBA. Data from the application, including information about the borrower, the total amount

of the loan, and the listed number of employees, was transmitted by the lender to the SBA in the

course of processing the loan.

4. PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by the business on certain permissible

expenses-payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest

and principal on the PPP loan to be entirely forgiven if the business spent the loan proceeds on

these expense items within a designated period of time and used a defined portion of the PPP loan

proceeds on payroll expenses.

The Defendants and Related Entities and Individuals

5. Apex Now Corp. ("Apex Now") was an Ohio corporation with its listed principal

address in Solon, Ohio, which performed construction services in Nmtheast Ohio and elsewhere.

6. Urban Housing Group LLC ("Urban Housing") was an Ohio corporation with its

listed principal address in Highland Heights, Ohio, which had limited operations, but performed

some construction services in Northeast Ohio.

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Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 3 of 11. PageID #: 128

7. DEON D. LEVY, a resident of Bedford Heights, Ohio, was the true owner and

manager of Apex Now and Urban Housing. DEON D. LEVY was also the father of ABDUL-

AZEEM LEVY and Person I, and the husband of Person 2.

8. DEON D. LEVY generally operated Apex Now under the alias of Person I, who

was the purported owner and manager of Apex Now.

9. DEON D. LEVY generally operated Urban Housing under the alias of Person 2,

who was the purported owner and manager of Urban Housing.

I 0. Bank I was a federally insured bank located in Cincinnati, Ohio.

11. Bank 2 was a financial institution based in Fort Lee, New Jersey, that was insured

by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC"). Bank 2 was an approved SBA lender of

PPP loans.

12. Bank 3 was a financial institution based in Salt Lake City, Utah, that was insured

by the FDIC. Bank 3 was an approved SBA lender of PPP loans.

13. Bank 4 was a federally insured bank located in New York, New York.

14. Bank Processor I was a third-party company processor, based in Redwood City,

California, that processed PPP loan applications for Bank 2 and Bank 3. Members of the public

could access an online portal for applying for PPP loans through Bank Processor I's website, and

it received applications through that portal submitted to its servers located in California.

15. ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY, a resident of Bedford Heights, Ohio, was the sole

signatory on a business checking account at Bank I in the name of Apex Now (the "Apex Now

Account"), but permitted DEON D. LEVY to operate the Apex Now Account under his name.

ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY also assisted DEON D. LEVY in the operations of Apex Now and

Urban Housing.

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Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 4 of 11. PageID #: 129

16. James Richard Stote (charged separately) was a resident of Broward County,

Florida.

17. Ross Charno (charged separately) was a resident of Broward County, Florida.

COUNT 1
(Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 371)

The Acting United States Attorney charges:

18. The allegations contained in paragraphs 1 through 17 of this Information are

incorporated by reference as if stated fully herein.

The Conspiracy and Scheme to Defraud

19. From in or around May 2020, and continuing through in or around June 2020, in

the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, and elsewhere, Defendants DEON D. LEVY and

ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY, James Richard Stote (charged separately), and Ross Charno (charged

separately) did willfully, that is, with the intent to further the object of the conspiracy, knowingly

combine, conspire, confederate, and agree together and with each other and with others known and

unknown to the Acting United States Attorney, to commit an offense against the United States,

that is, to knowingly, and with the intent to defraud, devise, and intend to devise, a scheme and

artifice to defraud, and to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent

pretenses, representations, and promises, knowing that the pretenses, representations, and

promises were false and fraudulent when made, and, for the purpose of executing the scheme and

artifice, to knowingly transmit and cause to be transmitted, by means of wire communication in

interstate commerce, certain writings, signs, signals, pictures and sounds, in violation of Title 18,

United States Code, Section 1343.

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Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 5 of 11. PageID #: 130

Purposes of the Scheme

20. The purposes of the scheme included, but were not limited to, the following: for

Defendants and their co-conspirators to unlawfully enrich themselves by, among other things:

(a) submitting, and causing to be submitted, false and fraudulent applications for loans and grants

made available through the SBA to provide relief for the economic effects caused by the COVID-

19 pandemic, including PPP loans; (b) offering, paying, and receiving kickbacks in return for the

submission of false and fraudulent loan applications; and (c) diverting fraud proceeds for

Defendants' and co-conspirators' personal use, the use and benefit of others, and to further the

conspiracy.

Manner and Means of the Scheme

21. The manner and means by which Defendants and their co-conspirators carried out

the scheme included, but were not limited to, the following:

a. DEON D. LEVY, Stote, Charno, and other co-conspirators submitted and

caused to be submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications for Apex Now, Urban Housing, and other

entities, via interstate wire communications.

b. The PPP loan applications that DEON D. LEVY, Stote, Charno, and others,

submitted and caused to be submitted for Apex Now, Urban Housing, and other entities, included

falsified bank statements and payroll tax forms, among other things, and falsely and fraudulently

represented the borrowing entities' operations and finances, including the number of employees

and amount of monthly payroll.

c. Using interstate wire communications, DEON D. LEVY provided Stote

and Charno with documents and information concerning Apex Now and Urban Housing for

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Stote and Charno to use to obtain funds for DEON D. LEVY, including falsified bank statements

for the Apex Now Account.

d. Using interstate wire communications, DEON D. LEVY, Stote, and

Charno arranged for DEON D. LEVY to send to Stote kickbacks of approximately 25% of the

amount of the PPP loans.

e. ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY maintained the Apex Now Account under his

name for DEON D. LEVY to use under false pretenses, in order to avoid scrutiny from law

enforcement, creditors, and Bank 1.

f. DEON D. LEVY also used Person l's identity as an alias to avoid scrutiny

from law enforcement, creditors, and financial institutions.

g. ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY made false representations and submitted falsified

documents to Bank 1 in order to assist DEON D. LEVY in obtaining funds from the PPP loan to

Apex Now.

Overt Acts

22. In furtherance of the conspiracy, and to accomplish its object and purpose,

Defendants and their co-conspirators committed and caused to be committed, in the Northern

District of Ohio, and elsewhere, the following overt acts, among others:

23. In or around April 2020, DEON D. LEVY emailed and texted with Stote and

Charno about other attempts to obtain loans for DEON D. LEVY's businesses and to improve

the credit profiles of Person 1, Company 1, and Company 2. DEON D. LEVY had provided

Stote and Charno with falsified bank statements for the Apex Now Account for use in these

efforts.

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24. On or about May 15, 2020, after Stote had initial success obtaining approvals for

PPP loans for other co-conspirators, DEON D. LEVY and Chamo exchanged text messages

discussing a "[n]ew loan program." Chamo sent DEON D. LEVY a screenshot from Bank

Processor 1's website of an approval for a PPP loan for "another client" in the among of

"$244,062.00." DEON D. LEVY provided Chamo with information, including false

representations, regarding Apex Now, and directions to send funds to the Apex Now Account.

Chamo responded with another screenshot showing, "You qualify for $554,232," and stating that

confirmations and instructions would be sent to an email address not known to DEON D. LEVY,

which Stote controlled.

25. On or about May 17, 2020, Chamo sent a text message to DEON D. LEVY to

obtain a copy of a check for the Apex Now Account, which DEON D. LEVY provided., for use

in finalizing the application.

26. On or about May 18, 2020, Stote and Charnci submitted a fraudulent PPP

application for Apex Now for $554,232, through Bank Processor 1 to Bank 2, relying on, among

other things, one of the falsified Apex Now Account statements DEON D. LEVY had provided

and falsified IRS Forms 941 showing fabricated payroll expenses.

27. On or about May 18, 2020, Chamo sent DEON D. LEVY a message stating, "Hey

pis call me asap. Have great news." The two spoke by telephone, and Charno informed DEON D.

LEVY that the $554,232 loan had been approved, and Charno then began requesting that DEON

D. LEVY pay Chamo and Stote a 25% fee for obtaining the loan.

28. On or about May 20, 2020, the Apex Now PPP loan was processed and funded.

29. On or about May 21, 2020, Chamo sent a text message to DEON D. LEVY

stating, "U should have the funds."

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Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 8 of 11. PageID #: 133

30. On or about May 22, 2020, the PPP loan cleared in the Apex Now Account,

showing as a $554,232 credit labeled, "CRB [Bank Processor I] SBA Loan Apex Now Corp

052220."

31. On or about May 25, 2020, Charno forwarded to DEON D. LEVY an email from

Stote, in which Stote provided instructions for DEON D. LEVY to send the 25% fee. Stote wrote

that the wire for DEON D. LEVY "is 138,558.25" and should be sent to a specified account

controlled by Stote.

32. On or about May 25, 2020, DEON D. LEVY and Charno spoke first by telephone

and then by text messages and email about obtaining another PPP loan for Urban Housing, which

DEON D. LEVY represented as his "sister's" company. After discussing the plan on the

telephone, DEON D. LEVY sent an email to Charno with information to use in Urban Housing's

application. After reviewing that information, Charno sent DEON D. LEVY by email a blank

"intake form," which contained fields for the information he and Stote needed to fabricate the

application documents and fill out other aspects of the PPP application: identifying information

about the owner and company, as well as bank account information for receiving the loan. A

section at the end marked "BELOW IS OFFICE USE ONLY" included blank fields for the

"Number of Employees," "Monthly Payroll Expense," and "SBA Loan Pre-Approval Amount."

Charno sent DEON D. LEVY an email stating, "i sent u an intake sheet she [DEON D. LEVY's

purported sister] has to fill out." Within approximately two hours, DEON D. LEVY returned the

completed form with information for Person 2, Urban Housing, Urban Housing's account at

Bank 4 (the "Urban Housing Account"). Later that night, DEON D. LEVY sent Charno an email

with a copy of a February 2020 Bank 4 statement for the Urban Housing Account.

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Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 9 of 11. PageID #: 134

33. On or about May 26, 2020, Charno sent text messages to DEON D. LEVY

inquiring about the 25% fee for Apex Now's PPP loan, stating, "Funds should have cleared for

sure," and, "Everyone elses did."

34. On or about May 27, 2020, DEON D. LEVY and Charno had a series of

conversations on the telephone and by text message. During those conversations, they discussed

DEON D. LEVY taking steps to resolve issues with the Urban Housing PPP application through

Bank Processor I, including DEON D. LEVY speaking with representatives from Bank

Processor I. After speaking with Bank Processor I representatives, DEON D. LEVY sent

Charno a message stating, "Can you double back with [Bank Processor I] and see if there is

issue. Talked with manager, they said she would be reaching out." After Stote amended details

in the Urban Housing application, Charno sent a message to DEON D. LEVY stating, "Ur sister

has to accept on her email. Cant reach either ofu and gotta get this in." DEON D. LEVY

responded, "Done."

35. On or about May 28, 2020, Stote finalized an application on behalf of Urban

Housing for a $320,767 PPP loan from Bank 3, through Bank Processor I, which was funded

and disbursed to the Urban Housing Account.

36. On or about May 29, 2020, Charno sent a text message to DEON D. LEVY,

stating, "Pis call me. Ur sister should have gotten stuff by now." He added, "80190 is the

amount for urban housing that needs to be wired," and provided wiring instructions to an account

controlled by Stote.

37. On or about June I, 2020, after the Urban Housing PPP loan cleared in the Urban

Housing Account, DEON D. LEVY and Charno exchanged text messages about the payment for

Urban Housing's loan. DEON D. LEVY sent a message stating, "Pis send a confirm on the wire.

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Case: 1:22-cr-00227-DAR Doc #: 30 Filed: 05/10/22 10 of 11. PageID #: 135

I know ur busy but they are asking." DEON D. LEVY responded that Person 2 had an

appointment that day.

38. On or about June I, 2020, Person 2, acting at DEON D: LEVY's direction, from a

Bank 4 branch in the Northern District of Ohio, Eastern Division, initiated a wire transfer of

$80,190 from the Urban Housing Account to the same account to which Charno had instructed

DEON D. LEVY to send the money.

39. On or about June I, 2020, DEON D. LEVY forwarded a message that he had

received from Person 2 that said "Done" and attached a picture of a Bank 4 "Wire Transfer

Outgoing Request" for the wire that had just been sent.

40. On or about June 3, 2020, ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY reviewed options for

applying for additional PPP loans on the website for Bank Processor I, and for obtaining other

forms of Small Business Administration pandemic relief.

41. On or about June 5, 2020, DEON D. LEVY, representing himself as ABDUL-

AZEEM LEVY, had a series of conversations on the telephone with an undercover investigator

(the "UC") posing as a Bank I compliance officer. During those conversations, the UC

explained that the Apex Now Account had been placed on hold following the receipt of the PPP

loan because the loan was in the name of Person I, while ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY was the only

authorized signer on the account. DEON D. LEVY, still posing as ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY,

explained that Person I could not personally appear to provide his consent, but agreed to obtain

and bring a signed and notarized statement by Person I expressing his approval of the

disbursement, and that ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY would also sign forms indicating his approval

of the Apex Now Account receiving the PPP loan.

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42. On or about June 8, 2020, Defendants drove to the Bank I branch location in

Solon, Ohio, to meet with the UC. Defendants brought with them a document authorizing the

Apex Now Account to receive the Apex Now PPP loan, which purported to bear the notarized

signature of Person I, but which Defendants in fact knew had not been signed by Person I or

notarized by a true notary.

43. On or about June 8, 2020, as ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY entered the bank location,

DEON D. LEVY sent ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY a text message instructing ABDUL-AZEEM

LEVY to "Grab $12k" from the Apex Now Account once the hold on the account was released.

44. On or about June 8, 2020, ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY, seeking to assist DEON D.

LEVY with releasing the hold on the Apex Now Account, met with the UC, and provided the

UC with the purportedly notarized document. ABDUL-AZEEM LEVY presented this document

with a copy of Person l's driver's license.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 371.

MICHELLE M. BAEPPLER
Acting United States Attorney

By:
CHELSEA S. RICE
Chief, White Collar Crime Unit

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