“Joseph Harding, 35, of Williston, Florida, plead guilty today to wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements in connection with COVID-19 relief fraud. Jason R Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the guilty plea.”
“Court documents reflect Harding devised a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) and obtained coronavirus-related small business loans by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises, and while executing such scheme, caused wire communications to be transmitted in interstate commerce. Harding also made a false and fraudulent SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) application, in the name of one of his dormant business entities, that he submitted to the SBA. By this conduct, Harding fraudulently obtained $150,000 in COVID-19 relief funds from the SBA to which he was not entitled. After obtaining the EIDL proceeds, Harding conducted three monetary transactions each involving more than $10,000 in fraudulently obtained funds: a transfer to his joint bank account, a payment to his credit card, and a transfer into a bank account of a third-party business entity,” says a Tuesday DOJ press release.
What it doesn’t mention is that Harding is a Republican (now-former) state representative credited as the author of the draconian “Don’t Say Gay” law, making it a crime to acknowledge the existence of LGBT people in Florida. And why would it? As far as the law is concerned there’s nothing relevant to Harding’s political affiliation in the indictment. Plenty of other people – Dems, independents, and non-voters alike – have been caught scamming the government for loans during the pandemic.