Information — United States v. Ralston Boswell (D.N.J.)

Summary

In this information (Crim. No. 24-, D.N.J.), filed after Ralston Boswell of Camden County, New Jersey waived prosecution by indictment, the U.S. Attorney charges two counts of wire fraud. Count One alleges that in 2021 Boswell submitted three fraudulent PPP loan applications, one under a false name, that claimed work as an Uber driver with monthly earnings of $7,500 or gross income of $90,000, and that Lender 1, Lender 2 and Lender 3 each disbursed approximately $18,750. Count Two alleges that from around May 2020 through around March 2021 Boswell used other people's names, residential addresses and social security numbers to submit at least six fraudulent applications for unemployment benefits and obtained approximately $152,961 from state workforce agencies. The forfeiture allegation puts the proceeds of both counts at $209,211.

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2021R00361/JSM
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA : Crim. No. 24-
:
v. :
: 18 U.S.C. § 1343
RALSTON BOSWELL :

INFORMATION

The defendant having waived in open court prosecution by Indictment,

the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey charges:

COUNT ONE
(Wire Fraud)

1. At all times relevant to this Information:

a. The defendant, RALSTON BOSWELL (“BOSWELL”), was a

resident of Camden County, New Jersey.

b. Lender-1, Lender-2 and Lender-3 were financial institutions

that participated as lenders in the Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), as

described herein. Lender-1 was a “financial institution” within the meaning of

Title 18, United States Code, Section 20.

The Paycheck Protection Program

c. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security

(“CARES”) Act was a federal law enacted in or around March 2020 and was

designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans

who suffered the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One

1
source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of billions of

dollars in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain

other expenses, through a program referred to as the Paycheck Protection

Program (“PPP”).

d. To obtain a PPP loan, a qualifying business had to submit a

PPP loan application signed by an authorized representative of the business.

The applicant of a PPP loan was required to acknowledge the program rules

and make certain affirmative certifications in order to be eligible to obtain the

PPP loan. In the PPP loan application, the applicant had to state, among other

things, its average monthly payroll expenses and number of employees. These

figures were used to calculate the amount of money the business was eligible to

receive under the PPP. In addition, businesses applying for a PPP loan had to

provide documentation showing their payroll expenses.

e. A PPP loan application had to be processed by a participating

financial institution (the lender). If the PPP loan application was approved, the

lender funded the PPP loan using its own monies, which were 100%

guaranteed by the Small Business Administration (“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.

f. PPP loan proceeds could only be used by the business for

certain permissible expenses, including payroll costs, interest on mortgages,

rent, and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest and principal on the PPP loan
2
to be entirely forgiven if the business used the loan proceeds on these expense

items within a designated period of time after receiving the proceeds and used

a certain amount of the PPP loan proceeds on payroll expenses.

g. To obtain loan forgiveness of a loan in the amount of

$150,000 or less, a borrower was required to submit a PPP Loan Forgiveness

Application Form 3508S. Form 3508S required the borrower to report the

amount of loan proceeds spent on payroll costs. It also required the borrower

to certify that the information provided in the forgiveness application was true

and correct.

2. From in or around March 2021 through in or around April 2021,

in Camden County, in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere, defendant

RALSTON BOSWELL

knowingly and intentionally devised and intended 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, and, for the

purpose of executing and attempting to execute such scheme and artifice to

defraud, did transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire

communications in interstate and foreign commerce certain writings, signs,

signals, pictures, and sounds, namely electronic loan applications that were

sent from a location in New Jersey to a location outside New Jersey.

Object of the Scheme

3. The object of the scheme was for defendant RALSTON BOSWELL to

enrich himself by obtaining money through the submission of fraudulent PPP
3
loan applications that included false statements about defendant RALSTON

BOSWELL’s employment and income.

Manner and Means of the Scheme

4. It was part of the scheme to defraud that:

a. Defendant RALSTON BOSWELL submitted, through the

internet, a fraudulent loan application to Lender 1 on or about March 6, 2021.

b. The application falsely stated that defendant RALSTON

BOSWELL was an Uber driver and had monthly earnings of $7,500.

c. Based on the false application, Lender 1 disbursed

approximately $18,750 to defendant RALSTON BOSWELL’s bank account

located in New Jersey.

d. Defendant RALSTON BOSWELL submitted, through the

internet, a fraudulent PPP loan application to Lender 2 on or about April 30,

2021. Defendant RALSTON BOSWELL used a false name to submit the

application. The application falsely stated that the applicant was a self-

employed individual whose gross income in 2019 was $90,000.

e. Based on the false application, Lender 2 disbursed

approximately $18,750 to defendant RALSTON BOSWELL’s bank account

located in New Jersey.

f. Defendant RALSTON BOSWELL submitted, through the

internet, a fraudulent PPP loan application to Lender 3 on or about May 16,

2021. The application falsely stated that defendant RALSTON BOSWELL was a

4
Lyft or tax driver and had annual gross sales of $90,000 and a monthly payroll

of $7,500.

g. Based on the false application, Lender 3 disbursed

approximately $18,750 to defendant RALSTON BOSWELL’s bank account

located in New Jersey.

In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

5
COUNT TWO
(Wire Fraud)

1. Paragraph 1.a. of Count One of this Information is realleged as if

set forth in full herein.

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program

2. At all times relevant to this Information:

a. The CARES Act created a new temporary federal

unemployment insurance program called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

(“PUA”). PUA provided unemployment insurance benefits (“UIBs”) for

individuals who were not eligible for other types of unemployment (e.g., the

self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers). The CARES Act

also created a new temporary federal program called Federal Pandemic

Unemployment Assistance (“FPUC”) that provided an additional $600 weekly

benefit to those eligible for PUA and regular UIBs.

b. Subject to certain eligibility requirements, a person who was

unemployed, but who used to be employed by an employer in a given state

could apply to receive UIBs from that state.

c. Each state administered the above UIB programs through a

State Workforce Agency (“SWA”). When a SWA approved a UIB application, the

SWA caused money to be transferred to the applicant, often by causing a

credit/debit card to be mailed to the address requested by the applicant.

3. From in or around May 2020 through in or around March 2021, in

Camden County, in the District of New Jersey and elsewhere, defendant

6
RALSTON BOSWELL

knowingly and intentionally devised and intended 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, and, for the

purpose of executing and attempting to execute such scheme and artifice to

defraud, did transmit and cause to be transmitted by means of wire

communications in interstate and foreign commerce certain writings, signs,

signals, pictures, and sounds, namely electronic applications for

unemployment benefits that were sent from a location in New Jersey to a

location outside New Jersey.

Object of the Scheme

4. The object of the scheme was for defendant RALSTON BOSWELL to

enrich himself by obtaining money from SWAs through the submission of

fraudulent UIB claims.

Manner and Means of the Scheme

5. It was part of the scheme to defraud that:

a. Defendant RALSTON BOSWELL collected personal

identification information (“PII”), including names, residential addresses, and

social security numbers of other individuals.

b. Defendant RALSTON BOSWELL used the PII to submit at

least six fraudulent applications for UIBs via online portals to SWAs.

c. Defendant RALSTON BOSWELL obtained approximately

$152,961 from SWAs in response to the fraudulent UIB applications. The
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payments from the SWAs were made into accounts controlled by defendant

RALSTON BOSWELL.

In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343.

8
FORFEITURE ALLEGATION AS TO COUNTS ONE AND TWO

1. As a result of committing the offenses charged in Counts One and

Two of this Information, defendant RALSTON BOSWELL shall forfeit to the

United States, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), all

property, real or personal, constituting or derived from proceeds traceable to

the offenses charged in Counts One and Two of this Information, and all

property traceable thereto, the value of which totaled $209,211.

SUBSTITUTE ASSETS PROVISION
(Applicable to All Forfeiture Allegations)

2. 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 which cannot be divided

without difficulty,

the United States shall be entitled, pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 853(p), as

incorporated by 18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1) and 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), to forfeiture of

any other property of the defendant up to the value of the above-described

forfeitable property.

_______________________
PHILIP R. SELLINGER
United States Attorney
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CASE NUMBER:
═════════════════════════════════
United States District Court
District of New Jersey
═════════════════════════════════
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

RALSTON BOSWELL

═════════════════════════════════
INFORMATION FOR
18 U.S.C. § 1343

═════════════════════════════════
PHILIP R. SELLINGER
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY
═════════════════════════════════
JOSEPH MCFARLANE
ASSISTANT U.S. ATTORNEY
CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY
856-757-5026
═════════════════════════════════

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