Former lawmaker who sponsored Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law sentenced to prison for fraud
Former Florida state Rep. Ron Harding is facing four months in prison Republican Joe Harding, a former Florida state representative who tried to ride Ron DeSantis’ homophobic coattails to fame by sponsoring that that’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” legislation, today (Friday, Oct.
20) was sentenced to four months in prison after pleading guilty in March to one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements.
The charges stemmed from Harding’s scheme to fraudulently obtain a $150,000 federal COVID-19 relief loan. Federal prosecutors charged that Harding used false bank statements for two dormant small businesses, claiming that, in the 12 months just before January 1, 2020, one of the two had four employees and revenue totaling more than $420,00 and that the second one had two employees and more than $390,000 in revenue.
In a sentencing memo to the judge, prosecutors said his “intentional criminal acts while serving as an elected state representative signify a betrayal of the public’s trust.” U.S.
