A federal court in Boston has sentenced a Miami woman, Danielle Miller, aged 32, to five years in prison.
She was found guilty of fraudulently obtaining over $1 million in pandemic-related loans by stealing identities from more than 10 individuals.
The Department of Justice revealed that Miller used the money for personal luxuries, such as chartering a private jet and renting a luxury apartment.
In addition to her prison sentence, she has been ordered to serve three years of supervised release. The exact amount she must pay in restitution will be determined later.
In March, Miller pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy stated that”Ms. Miller isn’t an influencer, she is a convicted felon. She stole the identities of innocent people to steal over $1.2 million in pandemic-relief loans that should have gone to people in need. In a quest for fleeting social media stardom, Ms. Miller relied on fraud to fund a lavish lifestyle of private jets, luxury apartments, and other accoutrements of wealth.”
Miller engaged in fraudulent activities aimed at government pandemic relief programs.
This included exploiting the Economic Injury Disaster Loan funds provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.
She accomplished this by using stolen identities and fictitious business names to obtain over $1 million in government benefits.
“Danielle Miller stole critical financial support from the hands of people who needed it during one of the most turbulent economic periods in recent history,” Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England said. “While other Americans worried about how to keep food on the table, Miller spent her ill-gotten gains on hotels and luxury goods, heartlessly flaunting this fraudulent lifestyle on social media.”
Furthermore, Miller had fake IDs with her own picture but in the names of the victims. She arranged for a private jet and stayed in fancy hotels in California using one victim’s identity.
On a different occasion, she leased a high-end apartment in Miami using another victim’s identity.
Miller was quite active on social media, boasting about her lavish lifestyle funded by ill-gotten gains.
She had over 34,000 followers on Instagram, showcasing her purchases of luxury items and renting high-class places. She even shared photos of transactions made with a victim’s bank account.
