Danielle Miller, Wire Fraud, Massachusetts 2020

A Miami woman has been arrested in connection with a brazen wire fraud scheme that saw her obtain over $102,000 in pandemic-related loans intended for small businesses, which she used for personal expenses.

Danielle Miller, 31, was taken into custody on August 2020 by authorities in Massachusetts, who charged her with one count of wire fraud.

According to court documents, Miller allegedly accessed the online Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) account associated with a Massachusetts resident and used their personal identifying information to open a bank account and apply for a federally-funded Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

The scheme unraveled in August 2020, when more than $102,000 in SBA loan proceeds were deposited into the bank account Miller had opened in the victim’s name. Miller then allegedly used the account to book a private flight from Florida to California, using a counterfeit Massachusetts driver’s license bearing her photograph.

Miller’s lavish spending spree was documented on her Instagram account, which boasts over 34,000 followers. Posts showed her relaxing at luxury hotels in California, including the $5,500 charge to the Petit Ermitage in September 2020.

The investigation, led by Homeland Security’s Investigation’s Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, revealed that Miller used the same IP address to apply for more than $900,000 in SBA loans under other identities.

Wire fraud carries a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. Miller will make an initial appearance in U.S. District Court in Boston at a later date.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Abely, Chief of Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell’s Major Crimes Unit.

Miller is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations.

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