Miami influencer Daniela Rendon purchased Bentley with COVID money: feds

A glamorous Miami authentic estate broker is dealing with federal fraud raps following authorities stated she employed COVID-19 reduction funds on a new Bentley, cosmetic strategies and a luxury condominium.

Daniela Rendon, 31, acquired $381,000 as a result of the Compact Small business Administration and Paycheck Defense System, according to the US Legal professional for the Southern District of Florida.

But as an alternative of working with the authorities hard cash to hold authentic workers afloat amid the pandemic, Rendon allegedly dispersed the pretend payroll funds to mates and spouse and children for particular gain.

Rendon blew a lot of the windfall to lease a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, rent a posh Biscayne Bay apartment and spend for cosmetic function, federal officials stated.

She also routed some of the taxpayer monies to refurbish a pair of designer sneakers.

Rendon now faces seven counts of wire fraud and revenue laundering raps that could land her in jail for up to 20 years.

Rendon’s social media webpages — most of which were set to non-public immediately after her arrest — attribute her cavorting in a selection of large-conclude options in Miami and past.

Prosecutors argued at her arraignment previous 7 days that she was a flight threat to her native Colombia, a assert her lawyer denied, according to the Miami Herald.

A judge set her bond at $150,000, and the mom of 3 will now battle the prices from her.

As part of the plan, Rendon allegedly falsified files connected to her true estate enterprise in buy to qualify for the PPP money — like her yearly revenue, payroll, fees of goods, IRS tax data and range of workforce. She submitted the fabricated studies to creditors in New Jersey and Idaho, the Miami Herald reported. 

Rendon, who phone calls herself an “Ultra Luxury” actual estate agent on LinkedIn, then intersected the bank loan payments and routed them to herself and all those in her inner circle, federal prosecutors allege. 

She organized for a New Jersey payroll processor to course of action the loans she received through her company lender account and issued the checks to family and friends, according to Miami Herald. 

Rendon is not the initially particular person to misuse the COVID-19 loan method meant to support little corporations having difficulties to endure during the pandemic. The $813 billion governing administration aid application was regularly misused by fraudsters who pocketed the money. A Florida pastor and his son have been arrested in December for making use of money from a PPP loan meant for their church to get a luxurious $3.7 million mansion on Disney Planet house.