Florida woman charged with fraudulently obtaining COVID relief funds

A Miami woman is facing federal charges after fraudulently obtaining COVID 19 relief benefits and using the funds to finance a luxurious lifestyle.

Daniela Rendon, 31, allegedly falsified her revenue and payroll and submitted fraudulent IRS tax forms to obtain COVID 19 relief funds from the Small Business Administration. She received approximately $381,000 in fraudulent funds from the Paycheck Protection Program PPP and the Economic Injury Disaster Relief Program EIDL According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida, Rendon is alleged to have used the fraudulently obtained funds to lease a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, rent a luxury Biscayne Bay apartment, pay for cosmetic dermatology producers, and refinish her designer shoes. The U.S. attorney's press release notes that Rendon enrolled with a payroll processor to issue fraudulent payroll checks to herself, family members, and friends.

The federal indictment charges Rendon with seven counts of wire fraud, two counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison, although the sentence would be determined by a federal judge based on sentencing guidelines and other legal factors.

Congress and federal agencies are trying to crack down on billions of dollars of fraudulently obtained COVID 19 aid, which was the subject of a House hearing this week.

Programs like the PPP, which was formed to help small businesses while COVID-19 was causing widespread economic havoc, and the EIDL, a pre-existing disaster relief program for businesses, were prime targets for fraudsters as billions of dollars flown from them in the early months of the epidemic.

The Government Accountability Office GAO found that programs and the federally-enhanced unemployment benefits program did not consistently apply leading practices to manage fraud risks in COVID 19 spending, including designating antifraud entities, assessing fraud risks, and developing antifraud strategies. The government agencies are working to recover as much of the ill-gotten funding from scammers after reports of fraud in pandemic programs.

The Pandemic Response Accountability Committee PRAC, which is composed of inspectors from federal agencies, plus additional staffers, and existing entities like the Secret Service, which has helped with the recovery of $3 billion in fraudulent unemployment benefits and over $1 billion in EIDL funding.