Four People Charged in Stolen Identity Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme Targeting Banks and COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Funds

MIAMI – A federal magistrate judge in Miami has unsealed an indictment charging Patrick Ductant, 35, of Pembroke Pines, Fla., Kervens Saint-Hilaire, 35, of Hollywood, Fla., and Vladimir Saint-Hilaire, 35, of Hollywood, Fla., with felony offenses, including conspiracy, bank and wire fraud, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft. Terri Shana Davis, 33, of Marietta, Ga., was also charged in the indictment with conspiracy and aggravated identity theft offenses. 

According to the indictment, from October 2019 through May 2021, the defendants unlawfully obtained and used personally identifiable information (“PII”) of unknowing victims to apply for and receive bank loans, open bank accounts, acquire credit and debit cards, and conduct financial transactions. Additionally, the indictment alleges that the defendants unlawfully used PII to apply for and obtain COVID-19 pandemic relief funds made available by the Small Business Administration (SBA) through the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The indictment also alleges that Davis sold and supplied some of the PII used to carry out the crimes stated in the indictment, which Davis accessed through her employment at a company in Atlanta, Ga. 

If convicted, Ductant faces up to 256 years in prison, Kervens Saint-Hilaire faces up to 260 years in prison, Vladimir Saint-Hilaire faces up to 216 years in prison, and Davis faces up to 34 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Sheriff Gregory Tony of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) made the announcement. 

BSO investigated the case, with assistance from U.S. Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Snider is prosecuting it. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daren Grove is handling asset forfeiture.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (“CARES”) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized and provided funding to the SBA to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (“EIDLs”) to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could otherwise have been met had the disaster not occurred.  EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA via the SBA’s on-line application website, and the applications were processed and the loans funded for qualifying applicants directly by the SBA.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud.  The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.  For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 23-cr-60119.

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