Criminal Information — United States v. Albert Eugene Miller, Jr., E.D.N.C. (Document 1)

Summary

A criminal information against Albert Eugene Miller, Jr., Case 5:22-cr-00290-D, filed 11/09/22 as Document 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, Western Division. Count One charges a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349. The information alleges that, after an introduction by a middleman, a person identified as E.W. created false payroll documents and E.W. and spouse S.C. applied for a PPP loan for Al Miller Agency, a sole proprietorship owned by Miller, and that Miller signed and returned the application form and backdated tax forms. It alleges the loan was submitted to Harvest Small Business Finance, LLC and deposited into Miller's bank account, and seeks a forfeiture money judgment of at least $145,833. The signature block names Assistant United States Attorney David G. Beraka.

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“Criminal Information — United States v. Albert Eugene Miller, Jr., E.D.N.C. (Document 1).” Original at ecf.nced.uscourts.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/information-usa-v-miller-dkt-1-e-d-n-c-7872cccbef/, SHA-256 bde3737df3169d9065922166a4572eeca25a67011299cb05dc084953cb5efc68.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINA
WESTERN DIVISION

No.5·.1~c£- 2-q 0

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
)
V. ) CRIMINAL INFORMATION
)
ALBERT EUGENE MILLER, JR. )

The United States Attorney ch arges the following:

INTRODUCTORY ALLEGATIONS

1. Between September and December of 2021, Defenda nt ALBERT

EUGENE MILLER, JR. and others, known and unknown to t he United States

Attorney, conspired to defraud the United States Government in the name of a

company he controlled through a sole proprietorship. This scheme involved frauds

up on institutions and agencies en gaged to provide financial assistance to the public

arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

2. At all times relevant to t his Information, MILLER was a resident of t he

Eastern District of North Carolina.

COVID Fraud: The Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP")

3. In March 2020, Congress passed t he Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 1 of 10
Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was designed to provide emergency financial

assistance to millions of Americans who were suffering from the economic effects

caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

4. The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) was an

executive-branch agency of the United States government that provided support to

entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the SBA was to maintain and

strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small

business and by assisting in the economic recovery of communities after disasters.

5. 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.

6. To obtain a PPP loan, businesses were required to submit a PPP loan

application, signed by an authorized representative of the business, acknowledging

the program rules. The business was required to state (a) its average monthly

payroll expenses and (b) the 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 showing their payroll expenses.

7. A PPP loan application was required to be processed by a participating

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 2 of 10
financial institution ("Lender"). Many Lenders constituted financial institutions, as

that term is defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 20. If a PPP loan

application was approved, the Lender funded the PPP loan using its own moneys,

which were 100% 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, were transmitted by the Lender to the SBA in the course of processing

the loan.

8. PPP loan proceeds were required to be used by businesses on certain

permissible expenses: payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. Loans

provided through the PPP have government-backed guarantees and are 100%

forgivable if the borrower submits documentation to the PPP Lender and SBA

demonstrating that at least sixty percent (60%) of the PPP loan proceeds were utilized

to meet existing payroll obligations and to retain employees.

9. Funds disbursed under the PPP and other programs are referred to

collectively herein as "COVID Loans."

The Scheme to Defraud

10. Between approximately January of 2021 and September of 2021,

ALBERT EUGENE MILLER, JR. (hereinafter "MILLER") conspired with E.W. and

others to engage in a fraud upon the PPP program. MILLER engaged in fraud upon

the PPP program in the name of Al Miller Agency, a sole proprietorship owned and

controlled by MILLER. Both MILLER and Al Miller Agency were located in

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 3 of 10
Rolesville, NC, which is in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

11. E.W. assisted numerous other companies and individuals (collectively

"Borrowers") located around the country to fraudulently obtain COVID Loans. In

exchange for their assistance in obtaining COVID Loans, the Borrowers such as

MILLER paid E.W. a fee. In total, E.W. and their spouse, S.C. , collectively

facilitated the fraudulent disbursement of more than $15 Million in COVID Loans.

12. To promote the operation of the scheme, E.W. and S.C. utilized

middlemen to recruit Borrowers. E.W. and S.C. paid, and caused others to pay,

these middlemen a "cut" of the fee charged for securing the fraudulent loans for the

Borrowers.

13. Q.J. was one such individual who operated various companies in the

Eastern District of North Carolina. Q.J. was a Borrower who utilized E.W. and S.C.

to fraudulently obtain PPP loan proceeds in the names of several companies. In

addition to being a Borrower, Q.J. also served as a middleman, and recruited

additional Borrowers- including Defendant MILLER-for E.W. and S.C. for an

agreed upon fe e.

14. To carry out the scheme, the conspirators engaged in the following series

of steps:

a. E.W. came into contact with MILLER- a Borrower who desired to

obtain a PPP loan- by introduction from Q.J. , acting as a

middleman. MILLER and E.W. communicated through interstate

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 4 of 10
text messages, phone calls, and em ails. During these contact s, E.W.

and MILLER discussed the process by which E.W. would assist

MILLER to secure a PPP loan .

b. MILLER supplied E.W. with various information concernmg

MILLER and his comp a ny, Al Miller Agency, which would be used t o

obtain the PPP loan , such as t h e comp any's feder al t ax identification

number and payroll information for the prior year. MILLER also

supplied per sonal information, such as a driver's license a nd social

security card. Lastly, MILLER provided bank account information

for the comp any, including the account numb er and rout ing

information.

c. E.W. and S. C. used th e information supplied by MILLER t o

fraudulently apply for a PPP loan. In furtherance of t h e application,

E.W. cr eated documents that falsely reflected such inform ation as

the annual payroll, gross receipts, expen ses, number of employees,

a nd employee n ames for Al Miller Agency.

d. E.W. and S.C. then supplied fra udulent documents to MILLER via

inter state email t ransmission for review and sign ature, such as t he

P aych eck Protection Progr am Bor rower Application For m. These

documents were fra udulent because, amon g other reasons, th ey

intent ionally misrepresented th e aver age monthly payroll and true

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 5 of 10
number of employees for Al Miller Agency. MILLER signed and

returned the fra udulent Application Form .

e. E.W. and S.C. also supplied to MILLER via inter state email, a

purported employee listing and annual salary for Al Miller Agency.

Miller signed and returned these fraudulent documents.

f. E.W. and S.C. also supplied to MILLER via inter stat e email, a

fraudulent Form 940, and four fraudulent from 941 form s. The

form s were fra udulent beca use they misrepresented the actual

a nnual and quarterly wa ges for MILLER's company. MILLER

receive d, signed, and returned the fra udulent and backdat ed Form

940 and Form 941s.

g. The PPP loan application was electronically submitted or caused to

be submitte d by E.W. and S.C. in MILLER's n ame, and received

through SBA server s locat ed in Oregon, using the fra udulen t

information described above, by electronically tra nsmitting the

information to the lending institution , Harvest Small Business

Finance, LLC, which is based in California, via inter st at e wire

transmission.

h. MILLER or another memb er of the conspiracy acting at E.W.'s

direction electronically signed the promissory note or promise to pay.

1. The PPP loan monies were th en deposite d via inter state wire

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 6 of 10
transfer into MILLE R's PNC Bank account ending in -734 7

associate d with Al Miller Agency over which MILLER had custody

and control.

COUNT ONE

15. The United States Attorney realleges and incorporates by reference

h erein all of the allegations contained in the preceding paragraphs of this Criminal

Information.

16. From approximately September of 2021 to December of 2021 , in the

E astern District of North Carolina and elsewhere, defendant ALBERT EUGENE

MILLER, JR. and others-known and unknown to the United States Attorney-did

knowingly combine, conspire, confederate, agree, and have a tacit understanding

with each other to commit a n offense against the United States, in violation of Title

18, United States Code, Section 1343 ("Wire Fraud"), that is: knowingly executing

and attempting to execute a sch eme and artifice to defraud, and to obtain money and

property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and

promises, and fo r the purpose of executing said scheme and artifice, transmitting and

causing to be transmitted by means of wire communication in interstate commerce,

any writing, sign, signal, picture, and sound.

Manner and Means

17. The United States Attorney realleges and incorporates by reference

h erein all of the allegations contained in the preceding paragraph s of this Criminal

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 7 of 10
Information, and further alleges that MILLER, E.W., and others, known and

unknown to the United States Attorney carried out the conspiracy in the manner and

means as set forth in those paragraphs.

All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349.

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 8 of 10
FORFEITURE NOTICE

Notice is hereby given that all right, title and interest in the property described

herein is subject to forfeiture.

Upon conviction of any offense charged herein constituting "specified unlawful

activity" (as defined in 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(c)(7) and 1961(1)), or a conspiracy to commit

such offense, the defendant shall forfeit to the United States, pursuant to 18 U .S.C.

§ 981(a)(l)(C), as made applicable by 28 U.S.C. § 2461(c), any property, real or

personal, which constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the said offense.

The forfeitable property includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Forfeiture Money Judgment:

a) A sum of money representing the gross proceeds of the offense(s) charged

herein against ALBERT EUGENE MILLER, JR. in the amount of at least

$145,833.

If any of the above-described forfeitable property, as a result of any act or

omission of a defendant: cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; has

been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; has been placed beyond

the jurisdiction of the court; has been substantially diminished in value; or 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 said defendant up to the value of the

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 9 of 10
forfeitable property de scribed above .

MICHAEL F . EASLEY, JR
United States Attorney

BY: ~
DAVID G. BERAKA
Assistant United States Attorney

Case 5:22-cr-00290-D Document 1 Filed 11/09/22 Page 10 of 10

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