A Miami influencer shared her luxurious lifestyle online. It was funded by COVID cash

A Miami influencer regularly flaunted her extravagant lifestyle to her 34,000 Instagram followers. Rides on private jets. High-end designer handbags. A luxury South Florida waterfront apartment.

But her online person was a facade.

The woman behind the account, Danielle Miller, funneled more than $1 million in a pandemic-related loan scam to finance the ruse she shared on social media, according to court records. The 32-year-old pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft.

From July 2020 through May 2021, Miller received pandemic-related relief loans by using fake business names and the stolen identities of more than 10 people, court records say. While making purchases and reservations, Miller presented the bogus driver’s licenses in the victims’ names with her photograph on them.

Miller brazenly publicized her lavish lifestyle, which assisted investigators in tying her to the scam. She posted a photo that linked her to luxury hotels in California, where transactions were made using one victim’s bank account. Miller also arranged private jet charter flights from Florida to California and rented the luxury Miami apartment using the forged IDs.

According to officials, Miller is no stranger to fraud-related cases. She had previously been arrested in Florida and was even profiled last year in a New York Magazine piece detailing her scams.

“I more so consider myself a con artist than anything,” Miller told the magazine. “You know how they have that saying that you can sell ice to an Eskimo? If there’s something that I want, I’m getting it.”

A New York native, Miller grew up a block from Central Park, according to the New York Magazine profile. She is the daughter of Michael Miller, the former president of the New York State Bar Association. From 2016 to 2019, Miller attended Pepperdine Law, her LinkedIn profile says.

Miller will be sentenced on June 27, 2023, by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV. She may face up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 for each charge of wire fraud. The identity theft charge is a mandatory sentence of two years in prison plus a fine of up to $250,000.

This story was originally published March 6, 2023 at 9:02 PM.

Grethel Aguila

Miami Herald

Grethel covers courts and the criminal justice system for the Miami Herald. She graduated from the University of Florida (Go Gators!), speaks Spanish and Arabic and loves animals, traveling, basketball and good storytelling. Grethel also attends law school part time.