Joseph Harding, a state representative of Florida, was charged by federal prosecutors on Wednesday for swindling away dollars of thousands from the Small Business Administration in the COVID-19 relief fund. Joseph Harding, who is the State Representative, gains an amount of $150000 by lying in SBA loans.
According to the reports of the Justice Department, he lied in his application and listed those entities with dormant business. He also forged the count of people employed by him and went to the extent of putting forward forged bank statements. The 35-year-old Joseph Harding is now being executed for charges of money laundering, false statements, and wire fraud as said in a release by the DOJ.
Joseph Harding To Be In Prison
The conviction for wire fraud carries a 20-year sentence while false statements and money laundering come with five and ten years respectively. The trial is to take place on 11th January with Gainesville Florida to be the city. According to Harding’s website, he still is in the position of the Florida House Representative for which he was elected in 2020. CNN reached out for comments to Harding’s office.
According to The New York Times, a statement is produced which says Harding is not guilty. In an appearance this Wednesday at the court, Harding states that he wants to bring light to his constituents and the public that the loan was repaid as well as he cooperated with all the investigators.
This is not the first time Harding has stolen the national limelight. Earlier he had been party to sponsoring controversial legislation. It banned some instructions regarding gender identity and sexual orientation in the schoolroom that goes against the law of “Don’t Say Gay” which was later officially termed as Parental Rights in Education law.
