Rendon, Miami real estate agent and influencer, received 381.000 USD through the Paycheck Protection and Small Business Administration program, according to New York Post.
But instead of using government subsidies to maintain the business and pay employees amid the pandemic, Rendon is accused of distributing fake salary funds to friends and family to profit.
Federal officials say Rendon splurged on a 2021 Bentley Bentayga, rented a luxury apartment in Biscayne Bay and spent money on plastic surgery.
Rendon’s social media accounts, most of which were made private following her arrest, share pictures of her dancing in high-end clubs in Miami and regularly buying expensive clothes and shoes. money.
Rendon now faces seven counts of wire fraud, money laundering and might face up to 20 years in prison.
She was also accused of falsifying documents related to her real estate business, in order to qualify for the pension. Rendon also sent fake documents to lenders in New Jersey and Idaho.
Theo Miami HeraldRendon arranged for a payroll processing unit in New Jersey to receive the loans through the company bank account, and then pass it on to family and friends.
Rendon is not the first person to scam, misappropriate Covid-19 relief money in PPP, the US government’s program to help small businesses struggling to survive during the pandemic.
In December 2022, a father and son in Florida were arrested for using money from a PPP loan to buy a luxury mansion worth 3.7 million USD on Disney World grounds.
In May 2021, a young man in California was arrested for using approximately 5 million USD from bailout loans to pay for a lavish lifestyle, vacations and expensive cars.
At the end of February 2021, a 24-year-old girl named Jasmine Johnnae Clifton, who lives in North Carolina, was also accused of setting up a fake business to borrow money.
Clifton used the bailout money 149.000 USD to shop at Louis Vuitton, diamond shops and other luxury retailers.
This woman faces 30 years in prison for each count and a fine 350.000 USDtheo Insider.
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