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ProfilePerson

Daniel Hernandez

Executive

PPP · EIDL
Type
Person
Role
Executive
Programs
PPP, EIDL
Updated

The profile

A former South Florida bank market manager sentenced in 2023 to 120 months in prison for a PPP conspiracy that submitted more than 90 fraudulent applications, mostly to his own bank and his previous one. "Daniel Hernandez" is a common name; this profile covers only the defendant in this Southern District of Florida case.

Identity and role

Daniel Hernandez was a market manager for what the Justice Department called "a top national bank" in South Florida when he was charged by criminal complaint (No. 22-mj-03333). The case proceeded as No. 22-cr-20529 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The department gave his age as 50 in its September 2022 release and 51 at sentencing. Neither release names the banks.

Biography / career arc

According to the complaint affidavit, as the U.S. Attorney's Office summarized it, Hernandez oversaw 80 bank employees and more than 20 branches across South Florida. The sentencing release calls him a former South Florida regional manager for a leading national bank. It says the fraudulent applications went mainly to two banks: his employer at the time and his previous employer, another leading national bank. Armando De Leon, who worked at the bank with Hernandez, was charged in a separate case.

The scheme and pandemic-relief role

The September 15, 2022 release describes the complaint's allegations: Hernandez recruited bank customers and at least one former bank employee to file more than 90 fraudulent PPP applications, told them how to fill in the forms and what to put on them, and used his position to make sure the loans were reviewed and, when possible, approved. At that stage the government put the amount sought at more than $30 million and the fraudulent loans issued at more than $15 million.

At sentencing, the U.S. Attorney's Office said Hernandez had conspired with De Leon, Alfonso Barata and others to submit the more than 90 PPP applications and had also conspired to submit EIDL applications to the SBA, most of which were declined. The conspiracy tried to take about $25 million from the two programs and caused about $15 million in losses; investigators had recovered more than $800,000. The FDIC Office of Inspector General, the FBI's Miami office and the SBA Office of Inspector General investigated, with help from the Florida Department of Revenue.

The FDIC OIG's May 2023 evaluation of FDIC examinations of government-guaranteed loans (EVAL-23-001) lists the Hernandez case in Appendix 5, its table of PPP fraud investigations.

  • Charged: by criminal complaint in the Southern District of Florida, No. 22-mj-03333, with conspiracy to commit bank fraud (September 2022 release).
  • Pleaded guilty: December 21, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, No. 22-cr-20529.
  • Sentenced: to 120 months in prison by U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore; the U.S. Attorney's Office announced the sentence on March 14, 2023. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin prosecuted the case and AUSA Joshua Paster handled asset forfeiture.
  • Co-conspirators: De Leon (No. 22-cr-20420) pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 60 months on February 21, 2023. Alfonso Barata (No. 22-cr-20487) pleaded guilty and was scheduled for sentencing on April 18, 2023; the 2022 and 2023 releases give him different first names, and our copies do not show his sentence.

Where they are now (2025–2026)

Public record on this Daniel Hernandez after the March 2023 sentence is limited; this profile reflects the Justice Department releases and the FDIC OIG report as of September 25, 2026.

Sources

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