A former Florida state lawmaker who sponsored the state’s divisive law nicknamed don’t say gay was sentenced to prison on Thursday for fraudulently collecting Covid-19 pandemic small-business government aid.
The former Republican representative, Joe Harding, faced a maximum sentence of 20 years, but was sentenced to four months in federal prison.
Following his prison sentence, Harding will have two years of supervised release, the Department of Justice said in a press release.
Harding pleaded guilty in March to several charges, including wire fraud, for fraudulently collecting $150,000 in pandemic relief funds earmarked for small businesses.
Harding’s brother-in-law, Patrick Walsh, was sentenced to more than five years in prison for a separate scheme to obtain small-business funds during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the justice department.
The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/oct/20/florida-lawmaker-covid-19-fraud-prison-joe-harding
