North Miami rapper “Money Rod” admits to government fraud and awaits prison sentence

MIAMI – Prosecutors are the reason a rapper named “Money Rod” will likely end up in prison for money.

Rodney McClain, also known as “$Rod,” has told fans that he grew up with a single mother struggling with poverty in North Miami. He is known for the single “Money,” which samples the classic “For The Love of the Money.”

Earlier this month, McClain, 35, admitted to wasting more than $113,000 of the $600,157 loan from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program designed to help businesses stay afloat during the pandemic.

McClain, who lives in Atlanta, was supposed to spend it on the payroll of Dreams Come True Records, a music production company he registered in North Miami Beach from 2010 to 2022.

The PPP loan application in question was submitted in 2020. According to federal prosecutors, it contained “false statements” about the music production company’s payroll costs in 2019 and 2020, as well as “two falsified IRS tax forms.”

In 2021, McClain told Rolling Out that “with power comes money and respect” and he considers former President Donald Trump a role model because “he’s a man of money.”

McClain later told Flaunt that his biggest expense was $700,000 worth of jewelry, describing it as “all kinds of VVS, ice dancing like Mike.”

McClain pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and agreed to give up his music rights, master recordings and musical compositions in order to repay the $113,000.

McClain was awaiting sentencing in Miami on August 29 before U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams. He faces up to 20 years in prison. The Miami field office of the IRS-CI investigated the case.