MIAMI – Prosecutors say money is why a rapper known as “Money Rod” will likely end up in prison.
Rodney McClain, also known as “$Rod,” has told his fans that he grew up with a single mother who struggled with poverty in North Miami. He is known for the “Money” single that samples the “For The Love of the Money” classic.
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Earlier this month, McClain, 35, admitted to misspending more than $113,000 out of the $600,157 loan from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program, which was meant to help businesses stay afloat during the pandemic, according to federal prosecutors.
McClain, who lives in Atlanta, Georgia, was supposed to spend it on the payroll at Dreams Come True Records, a music production company he registered out of North Miami Beach from 2010 to 2022.
The PPP loan application in question was submitted in 2020. It included “false information” about the music production company’s payroll expenses in 2019 and 2020 and “two falsified IRS tax forms,” according to federal prosecutors.
In 2021, McClain told Rolling Out that “money and respect follow up the power” and he considered former President Donald Trump a role model because “he’s a money man.” He later told Flaunt that his biggest expense was $700,000 in jewelry that he described as “VVS, ice that dances like Mike.”
McClain pled guilty to one count of wire fraud and agreed to forfeit his music rights, master recordings, and music compositions to pay back the $113,000. Prosecutors did not say how he spent the money.
McClain was awaiting sentencing with U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Aug. 29 in Miami. He faces up to 20 years in prison, but the maximum penalty is unlikely. IRS-CI, Miami Field Office investigated the case.