An influencer who used a $1.5 million COVID-19 relief loan on luxury clothes and designer handbags h

Source: Insider

An influencer who used a $1.5 million COVID-19 relief loan on luxury clothes and designer handbags has now been ordered to give them up

Kieran Press-Reynolds
Mon, August 28, 2023 at 2:50 PM EDT·3 min read

• In March, social media influencer Danielle Miller pleaded guilty to a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme.
• The court has now ordered her to forfeit numerous luxury items she obtained with the money.
• Miller has been charged with three counts of wire fraud, which each hold a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

In March, 32-year-old influencer Danielle Miller pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining $1.5 million in COVID-19 relief loans to fund her lavish lifestyle, including buying designer goods, chartering private jets, and renting a luxury apartment.

According to a Notice of Forfeiture posted on Monday, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts has now ordered her to forfeit some of these luxury items. Among them are a Rolex watch, a Louis Vuitton bag, several Rimowa suitcases, and more.

Miller, who has over 34,000 Instagram followers, was arrested in May 2021 and indicted by a grand jury a couple of months later. On March 6, she pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/influencer-used-1-5-million-185044713.html

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Related: U.S. Attorney's Offices Notices of Forfeiture (page 625 - US v. Miller)

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Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

Miami-Based Social Media Influencer Pleads Guilty to $1.5 Million COVID-19 Relief Fraud Scheme

Monday, March 6, 2023
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Massachusetts

Defendant publicized luxurious use of fraud proceeds and stolen identities on Instagram

BOSTON – A Miami woman pleaded guilty today to fraudulently obtaining over $1 million in pandemic-related loans using the stolen identities of more than 10 individuals, and then using those funds for personal expenses, including chartering a private jet and rental of a luxury apartment.

Danielle Miller, 32, pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for June 27, 2023. Miller was arrested on a criminal complaint in May 2021 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2021.

From in or around July 2020 through May 2021, Miller devised and executed a scheme to fraudulently obtain pandemic-related relief loans funded by the federal government – including Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as well as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance and related unemployment benefits. To execute the scheme, Miller used the personal identifying information of more than 10 individuals and used fake business names to apply for and receive more than $1 million in government benefits.

Additionally, Miller possessed counterfeit driver’s licenses in the victims’ names but bearing Miller’s photograph. In August 2020, Miller used a counterfeit driver’s license in the name of a Massachusetts victim to arrange a Gulfstream private jet charter flight from Florida to California, where she stayed at a luxury hotel under the same victim’s name. In a separate instance, Miller used the identity of another victim to rent a luxury apartment in Florida.

Miller maintained an active social media presence via her Instagram account, which had more than 34,000 followers. There, Miller posted her extravagant use of the fraud proceeds and stolen identities, publicizing her purchasing of luxury goods and renting of luxury accommodations. Posts to this account included a post showing Miller at luxury hotels in California where transactions were made using the bank account in one of the victim’s names.

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Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/miami-based-social-media-influencer-pleads-guilty-15-million-covid-19-relief-fraud