Florida Rep. Joseph Harding made his title as a conservative lawmaker by authoring and sponsoring Florida’s “Do not Say Homosexual” legislation, which prohibits dialogue of sexuality or gender within the state’s elementary faculties. Harding, prosecutors now say, is a criminal: a fraudster and cash launderer who stole 1000’s in Covid reduction funds.
Joseph Harding, 35, was indicted on six counts of wire fraud, cash laundering, making false statements and different crimes, the U.S. lawyer’s workplace for Northern Florida mentioned in a launch. Harding, a Republican whose district is south of Gainesville, is accused of searching for Covid-relief loans from the Small Enterprise Administration in 2020 for 2 firms, Vak Shack Inc. and Harding Farms, in response to the indictment. The indictment alleges that in purposes to the company, Harding mentioned the businesses had half a dozen staff and gross revenues from the earlier 12 months totaling greater than $800,000.