A music producer, artist and owner of a production company based in South Florida admitted to a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme this week, according to a press release from the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Florida.
Rodney McClain – also known as ‘Money Rod’ or ‘$Rod’ – pled guilty Tuesday to one count of wire fraud in relation to the case.
McClain admitted that in 2020, he caused a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan application to be submitted for his company, Dreams Come True Records, LLC, which is located in North Miami Beach, the release stated.
The US Department of Justice found that the PPP application contained materially false information about the company’s number of employees and payroll expenses om 2019 and 2020, including two falsified IRS tax forms submitted with the application.
“McClain received over $600,000 in PPP loan proceeds as a result of this fraudulent loan application, and he spent more than $100,000 of the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds on personal and other impermissible expenses,” the statement continued.
McClain will reportedly have a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of over $113,000 entered against him, and he will forfeit his music rights, master recordings, and music compositions, as part of the plea.
The sentencing hearing will be in Miami on August 29. McClain will go before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams.
McClain faces up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conviction, the statement read.
