A federal grand jury has actually prosecuted Florida state agent Joe Harding, the Republican legislator who authored the “do not state gay” expense, for Covid company relief scams and cash laundering, the justice department revealed on Wednesday.
Between December 2020 and March 2021, Harding, 35, dedicated wire scams when he participated in a “plan to defraud” the Small Business Administration and gotten Covid-related relief funds for small companies under incorrect pretenses, according to a federal indictment.
Harding, whose bio lists him as a “house health care executive” and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, apparently “fraudulently gotten” more than $150,000 in funds from the Small Business Administration.
Harding’s house health firm lies in Ocala. After state redistricting developed a brand-new electorate, Harding transferred to Ocala to be closer to his task and ran for House district 24, according to Florida Politics. He authored the Parental Rights in Education Act, which restricts teachers from discussing matters of gender and sexual identity in schools, a relocation that promotes concerned would “eliminate” LGBTQ+ trainees and their history.
Despite outcry and issue from instructors, moms and dads, trainees, legislators and supporters alike, Governor Ron DeSantis signed the costs into law in March, triggering a cooling groundswell of comparable legislation throughout the nation. A minimum of 137 expenses in 36 various states have actually presented instructional gag order costs in 2022, according to an August report by PEN America.
Harding won reelection because brand-new district in November. His political future is now unsure. In a declaration, Florida House speaker Paul Renner informed Politico that Harding was momentarily gotten rid of from committee tasks “to enable him time to concentrate on this matter”.
Harding, who was launched on bond after an initial hearing on Tuesday, informed Politico in a declaration that he “completely paid back the loan and complied with detectives as asked for”. If founded guilty, Harding confronts 20 years in federal jail for wire scams, 10 years for cash laundering, and 5 years for making incorrect declarations.