By Harriet Alexander For Dailymail.com
02:13 19 Aug 2023, updated 02:48 19 Aug 2023
- The Colombian-born 31-year-old admitted in federal court in Miami on Thursday that she was ‘motivated by insatiable greed’, but said everyone was doing it
- Rendon blew the money on leasing a Bentley, renting a luxury Biscayne Bay apartment, shoes and cosmetic procedure
- She flaunted her ill-gotten gains on social media, posting images of her on private jets and yachts
A Miami real estate agent has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison for fraudulently obtaining more than $380,000 in COVID relief loans, which she spent on leasing a Bentley, renting a luxury apartment and having cosmetic procedures.
Daniela Rendon, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in April 2023 after the prosecution dropped six additional counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.
Rendon, a mother of three, admitted her actions were ‘motivated by insatiable greed.’
She told the a federal court in Miami on Thursday: ‘Looking back, it becomes all too tempting to utter the words ‘everybody was doing it’ as a feeble attempt to rationalize my actions.
‘I regretfully confess that I once foolishly believed that the victims of my crimes were merely the faceless entities of the U.S. Government.’
U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore appreciated her contrition and the 30-page thesis she submitted, which detailed her remorse.
He sentenced her to the minimum prison time, sparing her an additional year behind bars.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Bailyn recommended a three and a half year sentence while her defense attorney, Robert Mandell, asked for a lenient term of five years’ probation.
She could have faced 20 years in prison for wire fraud.
‘It’s not as easy to see that you’re really stealing from your neighbors, your friends and other citizens,’ said Moore, according to The Miami Herald.
‘It’s their money that goes to the Treasury that makes it possible to have these kinds of programs.’
In the early months of the pandemic, federal funds were poured into businesses to keep them afloat and enable them to pay their essential overheads.
The Small Business Administration rolled out at speed several pandemic relief programs, including the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.
They are now attempting to claw back misspent funds, and prosecute those responsible.
A watchdog report released in June 2023 by the Office of the Inspector General for the SBA found 17 percent of the $1.2 trillion were stolen through fraud schemes.
The estimated fraud breakdown is $136 billion from EIDL programs and $64 billion through PPP loans.
‘The pandemic presented a whole-of-government challenge,’ wrote Hannibal ‘Mike’ Ware, the inspector general, in the report.
‘Fraudsters found vulnerabilities and coordinated schemes to bypass controls and gain easy access to funds meant for eligible small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the economic crisis.’
Rendon was able to get her hands on the money earmarked for struggling businesses by falsifying business data to secure the PPP funds.
Rendon applied for her business loans through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program for $371,000 and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief program for $10,000.
The Colombian-born realtor fabricated information including revenue, payroll, costs, tax information, and employee count.
The falsified data was submitted to lenders in New Jersey and Idaho, with the loans paid directly to her through her corporate bank account.
Rendon, who refers to herself as an ‘Ultra Luxury’ real estate agent on LinkedIn, then transferred the payments to herself and her inner circle of friends.
She arranged for a payroll processor in New Jersey to process the loans and cut checks that were then issued to family and friends.
Rendon did not shy away from the amount of wealth she had accumulated, regularly flaunting herself on her social media accounts and her 33,000 followers.
Among other things, the money was used to lease a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, which is sold for around $181,000, which she showed off on her Instagram account.
The money was also used to rent a luxury apartment in Biscayne Bay, undergo cosmetic procedures and to fix a pair of her designer shoes.
