Florida lawmaker Joe Harding who led the controversial bill “don’t say gay” of the state was charged with COVID-19 relief fraud.
According to the Department of Justice, a grand jury returned a six-count indictment against the state representative who has pleaded not guilty after being charged with fraudulently obtaining and attempting to obtain more than $150,000 in funds from the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Among the charges he faces are two for wire fraud, two charges for making false statements and two charges for money laundering. In addition, the Department of Justice indicated that he committed two acts of wire fraud between December 1, 2020 and March 1, 2021, by participating in a scheme to defraud the SBA and obtain coronavirus-related small business loans through through “false and fraudulent pretenses”.
Harding is also charged with making false representations when supporting loan documentation in the name of dormant businessess and obtain fraudulently created bank statements.
Faced with the serious accusations could land you a maximum sentence of 20 years for wire fraud, 10 for money laundering and five for making false statementsHarding came to his defense through a press release “I want the public and my constituents to know that I paid the loan in full and cooperated with investigators as requested.”
Source: La Opinion
