US influencer pleads guilty to using COVID-19 funds for personal gain

ISTANBUL

An American influencer, 32-year-old Danielle Miller, has pleaded guilty to having funded her extravagant lifestyle with more than $1 million in stolen COVID-19 relief funds, and has been sentenced to six years in jail in addition to a hefty fine.

According to a report by New York Post on Monday, the self-labeled “con artist” confessed that she fraudulently obtained $1.5 million through identity theft against 10 people who were receiving COVID-19 relief from the US government.

The daily also quoted federal officials who said the influencer blatantly showed off the items she bought with fraud money on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

According to the New York Post, Miller previously had another fraud case and the influencer has over 34,000 followers on Instagram.

“Honestly, I more so consider myself a con artist than anything,” the daily also quoted Miller as telling the New York Magazine in Feb. 2022.

Miller pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud and two counts of aggravated identity theft, gave up $1.3 million and will serve six years in prison.