A lawmaker behind the ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law has pleaded guilty
a Florida State Representative who pleaded guilty to obtaining a Covid-19-style coronavirus loan from the Small Business Administration
Federal prosecutors announced charges Wednesday against a Florida state representative who allegedly swindled thousands of dollars in coronavirus relief loans from the Small Business Administration.
Harding fraudulently obtained more than $150,000 from the Small Business Administration, portions of which he transferred to a bank and used to make a credit card payment, prosecutors said.
The DOJ stated in a release that there will be a trial for the charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements. A wire fraud conviction carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while money laundering and making false statements can each be sentenced to 10 and five years.
He told the New York Times that he had pleaded not guilty. The public and my community can now know that I repaid the loan as well as cooperated with investigators, according to the Times.
The former lawmaker was part of a group of people that sponsored a Florida law that banned public school classrooms from having discussion of sexuality and gender in kindergarten through grade 3.
Investigators have said that billions of dollars of Covid-19 relief funds have been obtained using fabricated, stolen or fake information. The Justice Department has brought high-profile fraud cases to the country.
The “Don’t Say Gay” bill was sponsored by a former Florida lawmaker who has pleaded guilty to obtaining relief funds for himself.
“This bill is about protecting our kids, empowering parents and ensuring they have the information they need to do their God-given job of raising their child,” Harding said when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the bill into law last March.
Indictment and Resignation of a Florida Representative Against a Semi-Democratic Activist for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program
In December of last year, a federal grand jury returned an indictment against a man who was charged with lying on his applications to the economic injury disaster loan program. He resigned from Florida’s House of Representatives one day later.
In his biography on the Florida House Republicans website, he is described as a “serial entrepreneur who has started many businesses in the real estate, home construction and landscaping industries.”
