FBI Complaint Ravneet Singh Electionmall, Ernesto Encinas

7/22/2019 FBI Complaint Ravneet Singh Electionmall, Ernesto Encinas

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UNITED ST TES DISTRICT OURT89

10 UNITED STATES1112 v

SOUTHERN DIS l RICT

OF AMERICArPla in t i f f /

13 R VNEET SINGH (1)ELECTIONMALL 1 INC. (2)14 ERNESTO ENCINAS (3)15 Defendants L161718

OF C LIFORNI2 iCase No.:

COMPLAINTT i t l e 18/ u s c / sec371 - Conspi racy toCommit Offenses Againstthe Uni ted Sta te s

19 The unders igned complainant/ being duly sworn/ s t a t e s :Beginning i n o r about da te unknown, but no l a t e r tha

22 2011 1 and con t inu ing through in o r about December 2013r i

2021

23 the Southern D i s t r i c t24

bfI

C a l i fo rn i a and elsewhereDefendants R VNEET SINGH 1 ELECTIONMALL 1 INC. and ERNEST25

26 ENCINAS consp i red toge the r and with o the rs to :I27 1 Knowingly and w i l l f u l l y make fo re ign na t iona

28 con t r ibu t ions and expend i tu res / aggregat ing 25 1 00


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and more during a calendar year ln viola t ion oTi t le 2 United States Code, Section437g(d) 1) A) (i) a i d 441e;

2) Knowingly and wil fu l ly make contr ibut ions tocandidate for federal off i ce in the names of othepersons, aggregating 25,000 and more duringcalendar year in vio la t ion of Ti t le 2, UniteStates Code, Sect ions 437g(d) 1) A) (i) and 441fand

3) . to f a l s i fy a record in a matter within thju r i sd ic t ion of th J Federal Bureau of Invest igat io

Iln v io la t ion of Ti t l e 18, United States CodeSect ion 1519;

18 a l l ln vio la t ion of Ti t le 18, United States Code, Sectio19 3 71.202122232425262728

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1 And the complainant fu r the r s t a t e s t ha t the foregoing i2 based on the a t t ached s ta tement of f ac t s which i3456

incorporated he re in by re fe rence .

iH JjJ C . PH NSpec ia l Agent FBI

78 SWORN TO ME ND SUBSCRIBED IN Y PRESENCE THIS ~ D Y OFJanuary 2014.9

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ST TEMENT QF PROB BLE C USEIndiv idua ls Involved

According to witness s t a tements , r epor t s and open sourc

records, aNationalCal i forn ia .

person h r i n f ~ r r e f e r r ed to as the Foreigi s a wealthy businessman with res idences i

Immigration records i nd ica te tha t the ForeigNational i s a c i t i zen of IMexlco, and not a c i t i zen of th

10 United Sta tes . Nor has tble Foreign National ever appl ie11 for , or obta lned , l ega l permanent r es iden t s t a tus in th12 United Sta tes . As a consequence, the Foreign National i s13

foreign nat ional14 . for the purposes of Ti t l e 2 of the Unite15 Sta tes Code.16

As a foreig:Q. nat ional , the Foreign Nationacannot l awfu l ly make donat ions , cont r ibut ions o17

I d 1ln l r e c t y,I

18 expendi tures , d i r e c t l y or in connection with an19 loca l , s t a t e o r federa l e lec t ion .20 Publ ic and open source records show t ha t R VNEET SING2122 ( SINGH ) i s the Pres ident , Chief Execut ive Off icer an23 founder of Elect ionMall , Inc. ( ELECTIONMALL ) . Accordin24 to i t s websi te , socia2526 media serv ices

ELECTIONM L L spec ia l i zes in providingto p o l i t i campaigns throughout the world

27 SINGH, who s ty l e s himself the campaign guru, work28 pr inc ipa l ly out of of f i ces in Washington, D.c. and ha

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helped the Fore ign Nat ional make campaign cont r ibut ions t12 candidates for e l ec t ive of f i ce in San Diego.3 According to witnesses and open source records , ERNEST4

ENCIN S ( ENCINAS ) i s a r e t i r ed San Diego Pol ice Departmen56 ( SDPD ) de tec t ive and the owner of a pr iva te secur i ty an7 consul t ing bus iness . ENcibAs a l so the Foreigversees8 de ta i lat ional s pro tec t ion and has helped the Foreig9

10 National make contr ibut ions to , and seek11 candidates and of f i ce holders in San Diego.12

favors from

According to witnesses and open source records , a perso1314 here ina f t e r r e fe r r e d to as the s t raw Donor i s the owner o15 a Cal i forn ia company.16

The Straw Donor i s a f r iend of thForeign Nat iona l , and has as s i s t ed the Foreign National i17

18 making campaign contr ibut ions to candida tes for e lec t iv19 of f i ce in San Diego.20 ENCIN S and the Foreign National Learn of the Prohibi t ion2122 aga ins t Foreign National Cont r ibu t ions

I3 Witnesses i nd ica te t ha t I n or about 2011, the Foreig

28 po l i t i ca l campaigns, who informed him t ha t foreign na t iona l5


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cannot donate to p o l i t i c a l campaigns in the United Sta tes2 ENCIN S repor ted t h i s to the Foreign National .3 I l l ega l Campaign Expenditures: Candidate 145 In or about May 2012, the Foreign National and ENCIN 6 agreed to crea te and did cause to be created, a7 independent expendi ture committee.8

Sometimes ca l ledPAC, SuperPAC or IE, such a commit tee can be used t9

10 pay for ce r t a in types of p o l i t i c a l adver t i s ing .

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Public records show tha t ENCIN S inves ted $3,000 in th icommittee,$100,000.fund thethrough a

and the Foreign National inves ted a to ta l oHowever, the Foreign National did not di rec t l

Icommittee, but ins tead funneled his $100,00

United Sta tes -based she l l corporat ion. Th18 consequence of t h i s as ENCIN S and others knew, was tha19 the20

Foreign National not be iden t i f i ed on thcommittee 's publ ic f i l ings . In t h i s way, the Foreig21

22 National , ENCINAS and others could f ac i l i t a t e a se r i e s o23 i l l ega l expendi tures by a fore ign nat ional while impedin24 any inves t iga t ion in to the t rue source of those funds.2526 Ult imately , th i s committee made approximately $114,0027 in expendi tures in favor of Candidate 1, a candidate for th28 of f i ce of mayor of San Diego during the 2012 primar

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e lec t ion cycle . For example, according to publ ic f i l ings2 between May 20 and 31, 2012, the committee spen3 approximately 86,000 on mailers and re la ted services . As 4

resu l t of these ac t ions , the committee f a i l ed to disc lose i56 publ ic f i l ings tha t the Foreign National was i t s majo7 source of f inancing.89

According to email records , in or about February 201210 the Foreign National agreerl to pay SINGH and ELECTIONM L

approximately 100,000 for soc ia l media serv ices tha t woul12 help Candidate 1 - over and above the cash he had alread1314 cont r ibuted to the committee15 According to16

invoicesindependent expenditure

obta l ned from the Foreign National email account,17

18 purchase fromthe Foreign National spec i f i ca l ly agreed t

SINGH and El ECTIONM LL disp lay ads, banne19 d s, t ex t ads and key ad word placements from Google, Inc20 IAccording to email and bank records , the Foreign Nationa21 I22 funded these campaign-related purchases by di rec t ing wirI23 t r ans fer s from a Mexico - bas kd company to ELECTIONMALL s ban24 account . As agreed between SINGH, ENCIN S and others , a t n25 I26 time did any e n t i t y repor t t h i s campaign-related spending i27 a publ ic f i l ing .28

As a consequence, SINGH, ENCIN S anothers successfu l ly concealed the fac t

7tha t the Foreig


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National was the source of t h i s s ign i f i can t , and i l l ega l2 campalgn f inancing.3 After the Foreign National used the P C to make i l l ega4

expenditures in favor5 of ~ n d i d t e 1, a local newsnot ing the Foreign National s

sourc6 published an a r t i c l e la rg7 expenditures and impl ic i t ly ques t ioning whether he wa89 e l i g ib l e to donate . The a r t i c l e noted tha t the Foreig

10 National was a Mexican c i t i zen , and quoted a po l i t i ca11 consul tant s ta t ing , incorrec t ly , t ha t the Foreign Nationa12 had a green card .n1314 I l l ega l Campaign Contribut ions: Candidate 215 Witnesses fur ther ind ica te tha t in o r about Septembe16 2012, a t the Foreign N a t i o n l s behest , ENCIN S approached1718 representa t ive of Candidae 2 , who was a candidate fo19 federa l e lec t ive of f i ce dur ing the 2012 general e lec t io20 cycle. ENCIN S offered t p arrange campaign f inancing i2122 connection with Candidate 2 s campaign, but was informe3 tha t the Foreign National would have to show proof of

24 green cardn before he could l ega l ly contr ibute , and tha t h2526 could not donate through a corporat ion. Knowing tha t th27 Foreign National did not have l ega l permanent res iden28 s ta tus , and thus lacked a green card , ENCIN S helped th

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Foreign National contr ibute 1n the Straw Donor's nam2 ins tead .3 Shor t ly thereaf t e r , bank records show t ha t in or abo4

September and October 2012, the Foreign National gave mon56 to the Straw Donor, including through a 380,000 check date7 October 2, 2012. The Straw Donor deposi ted th i s check in t8 a bank account associa ted with one of his corporat ions , an9

10 then proceeded to divide the Foreign Nat iona l s money amonother bank accounts tha t he ( the Straw Donor) control led

12 While the var ious checks cleared, the Straw Donor wrote1314 30,000 check to a p o l i t i c a l par ty committee associa ted wi15 Candidate 2 s campaign. In doing so, ENCINAS and others16 in conjunct ion with the Straw Donor and the Foreign Nation1718 - i l l eg a l l y f ac i l i t a t ed a condui t cont r ibu t ion in connect io19 with a federa l campaign. In addi t ion , they furnishe20 i l l ega l campaign f inancing while hiding the fac t tha t th2122 Foreign National was the t rue source of the funds.23 I l l ega l Contr ibut ions and Expendi tures : Candidate 324 In or about October 2012, SINGH ENCIN S and other2526 approached a representa t ive of Candidate 3, who was 27 candidate for the of f i ce of mayor of San Diego in the 20128 general e lec t ion cycle . Together, SINGH ENCIN S and other

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proposed to t h i s representa t ive (herein re ferred to a12 Confident ia l Informant #1 ( CI-1 )) tha t they could arrang3 for cer ta in soc ia l media spending on behal f of Candidate 3 '4 campaign.5

CI -1 asked for a pr ice quote for th i s socia6 media spending, but SINGH and ENCINAS demurred, t e l l i n7 him/her the expenses would be taken care of .8

CI-1 the9 agreed to t h i s spending, el en though s /he knew t would no

10 be repor ted on any publ ic f i l ings , in contravent ion of thlaw. (Since tha t t ime, CI-1 has spoken to agents about th i12 incident a f t e r reques t ing , and rece iv ing , an informal gran13

14 of immunity.)15 During approximately the same per:Lod tha t th i16 conversat ion between SINGH ENCINAS and CI-1 took place, i1718 or about October 2012, bank records reveal tha t the Foreig19 Nat ional ' s Mexico-based company t ransmit ted a to ta l o20 approximately $190,000 to ELECTIONMALL. Despite th i s , th2122 Foreign National and his coconspi ra tors never provided a23 invoice or other s ta tement of costs to Candidate 3 '24 campaign. In addi t ion , a t no t ime did any ent i ty repor2526 th i s campaign-rela ted spending in a publ ic f i l ing . In th i27 way, SINGH ELECTIONMALL ENCINAS and others fac i l i t a te28 i l l ega l in -k ind contr ibut ions by a fore ign nat ional t

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Candidate 3 / s campaign while impeding any inves t iga t ion in t12 the t rue source of the funds.3 Meanwhile/ according to bank records / a l so ln or abou4 October using money t ha t the Foreign National ha56 given him/ the Straw Donor wrote a $120 1 000 check from on7 of h is co rpora t ion / s bank accounts to an independen8 expendi ture commit tee t ha t favored Candidate 3 Shor t l

10 t he rea f t e r / a r ep resen ta t ive of the independent expendi tur11 committee emailed ENCINAS and another person to thank them12 for the check. Around the same t ime/ using money tha t th1314 Foreign Nat ional had given him/ the Straw Donor wrote ye15 another $30/000 check from one o f h i s corpora t ion/s ban16 accounts/ t h i s t ime to a p o l i t i c a l par ty committe1718 assoc ia ted with Candidate 3 1 S campaign.19 Proposed I l l ega l Campaign Financing: Candidate 420 According to an in te rcep ted te lephone ca l l / on or abou2122 August 1 1 2013 1 ENCINAS ca l l ed CI-1 on his /her ce l l phon23 and asked whether Candidate 4 would cons ider running for th24 off ice of mayor of San Diego in the event t ha t the then2526 Mayor of San Diego res igned or was r e c a l l e d from off ice . I27 addi t ion/28

ENCINAS asked whether Candidate 4 might bi n t e res t ed in fore ign investment

11to h i s campaign. CI-1


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who had not yet been contacted by the FBI and was not yet12 conf ident ia l informant, rep l i ed tha t campaign f inancing fo3 .Candidate 4 has got to be clean, you know, fur the4

e labora t ing tha t sh i t still hasn ' t come out from the l a s56 elec t ion , whether it s clean or not and e th ics probe7 and the FPPC v io la t ions and everything, so8 [Candidate 4] IS going to be squeaky c lean .9

10 Eventual ly , the Mayor d f San Diego res igned his off ice11 t r igger ing a spec ia l e lec t ion to rep lace him.12

Short lthereaf te r , Candidate 4 became a candidate for the off ice o13

I14 mayor in the 2013 spec la l e lec t lon cycle .15 On o r about August 28, 2013, CI-1 met ENCIN S an16 another person a t a downtown ho te l to discuss how th1718 Foreign National might heltp f inance Candidate 4' s mayora19 campaign. This meeting was the product of a ruse, an20 Candidate 4 had no knowledge of it t ak ing p lace . During th21

meeting which was audio- and video-recorded CI-1 aske223 ENCIN S to confirm tha t the Foreign National was Mexican4 which he and his assoc ia t e did . CI-1 then asked how SING

2526 received payment for h i s serv ices to Candidate 3. Laughing27 ENCIN S sa id I th ink a t h i rd par ty .28

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On or about September 10, 2013, CI-1 and ENCIN S met a2 a coffee shop to cont inue to discuss f inancing for Candidat3 4 ' s mayoral campaign. This meeting was a lso the product o4 a ruse, and Candidate 4 had no knowledge of t taking place56 During t h e i r discuss ion , which was audio- and video7 recorded, ENCINAS explained tha t - j u s t as he had done i8 the9 pas t he could crea te a ser i es of companies o

10 committees for the purpose of hiding the ul t imate source othe campaign f inancing. According to ENCINAS th i s woul12 crea te walls between the Foreign National and Candidate 413

14 thus layer [ing] out the en t i t i e s through which money wa151617

funneled so tha t i t can be hidden away pre t t y good.On o r about September 18, 2013, ENCIN S contacted

18 person involved in campaign f inance (here inaf te r refer red t1 9 as CI-2 ) , and asked to meet with him/her . That same day20 ENCIN S and CI-2 met a t a coffee shop. During the meeting2122 which was audio- and video-recorded, CI-2 informed ENCIN 23 tha t the Foreign National could not give to Candidate 1 i24 the future because the Foreign National did not have a gree2526 card. Acting a t my d i rec t ion , CI-2 then asked whethe27 ENCIN S could th ink of a way for the Foreign National t28 contr ibute t ha t was not sor t of t raceable .

13ENCIN


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rep l ied , ln substance, tha t the Foreign National coul2 funnel money through the Straw Donor.3 ENCINAS s Request to F i re the Chief of Police4

5and Choose his Replacement

6 Immediately a f t e r meeting with CI-2, on September 187 2013, ENCIN S met with CI-1. During th i s meeting, ENCIN 8 and CI-1 continued to discuss how ENCIN S could fac i l i t a t9

10 campaign f inancing for Candidate 4 while conceal ing thfunds' t rue source.12 In addi t ion, ENCIN S re la ted tha t hwanted the next mayor to f i r e the Chief of Police an13

14 replace him with a person of ENCINAS s choosing. ENCIN 15 fur ther s t a t ed tha t th i s was the one guarantee he sough16 from Candidate 4 in exchange for the Foreign National 1718 campaign money.19 FBI Jur i sd ic t ion and Inves t iga t ion20 I t i s a matter within the ju r i sd ic t ion of the Federa2122 Bureau of Inves t iga t ion ( FBI ) to inve s t iga te po ten t ia23 i l l ega l campaign donations, cont r ibu t ions and expenditure24 a t the federa l , s t a t e and loca l l eve l . I t i s also a matte2526 within the j u r i sd i c t ion of the FBI to invest igate th27 poten t ia l in f luence of fore ign money in American elec t ions28 including the donations, contr ibut ions and expenditures o

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I t i s fur thermore a matter within thoreign nat iona l s .2 j u r i sd i c t i on of the FBI to i nves t iga te br ibery of publ i3 of f i c i a l s inc luding br ibery schemes charac ter ized as th4 deprivat ion of honest serv ices .56 Present ly the FBI i s i nves t iga t ing the Foreig7 National SINGH ELECTIONMALL ENCINAS the Straw Donor an8 others with respect to among other th ings poss ib le i l l ega9

10 campaign contr ibut ions and expendi tures as well a11 poten t ia l conspi rac ies to depr ive the publ ic of hones12 se rv ices through the improper in f luence of San Diego Cit1314 of f i c i a l s .1516171819202122232425262728

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FBI Complaint Ravneet Singh Electionmall, Ernesto Encinas

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