said Jason Coody, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Florida. “However, the defendant’s deceptive acts of diverting emergency financial assistance from small businesses during the pandemic is simply beyond the pale.”“Today’s sentence both punishes the defendant’s criminal conduct and should serve as a significant deterrent to others who would selfishly steal from their fellow citizens to unlawfully enrich themselves.”This guy just looks slimy, doesn’t he?Former Rep.
Joe Harding sentenced to four months in prison on COVID loan fraud charges https://t.co/wLRZn8vX2JWhoopsNot long enoughHas ‘Bully’ written all over himHarding was first elected to the state House in 2020, meaning stealing money from his constituents during a global pandemic was one of his first acts as an elected official.
What a public servant!Authorities accused him of falsifying bank statements from two defunct businesses to receive loans from the Small Business Association.
He told SBA officials one of his companies had four employees and $420,874 in revenue, while the other had two employees and $392,000 in revenue.While Harding repaid the loan and confessed to what he did, prosecutors argued jail time was still necessary for such a grave betrayal of public trust.In total, the SBA estimates it dispersed over $200 billion in potentially fraudulent COVID loans, which means Harding was part of one of the most vile and widespread financial scams in U.S.