Who is Joseph Harding Wiki, Biography, Age, Family, Height, Net Worth, Fast Facts

Former conservative Florida administrator Joseph Harding, who supported the contentious “Don’t Say Gay” bill, admitted to deceitfully obtaining coronavirus relief credits from the SBA in 2020.

According to numerous reports referring to an official statement from the Division of Equity, on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, Joseph Harding, 35, admitted to wire extortion, tax evasion, and offering misleading expressions to obtain coronavirus relief credits. for other organizations that were supposedly inactive. for a long time.

Harding is blamed for defrauding the Independent Business Organization out of more than $150,000 through his Monetary Injury Debacle Advance program. The program was created to provide financial relief to entrepreneurs who have been affected by the Covid pandemic.

However, experts said Harding allegedly lied about the app’s structure by referring to a company that had been dormant for a long time and, on second thought, used the money to cover his own costs, including paying a utility bill. Mastercard.

According to his profile on the Florida House conservative site, Joseph Harding is depicted as a moderate conservative who was born and raised in Williston, Florida.

The bio stated that Harding was a sequential business visionary who, prior to being elected to office in 2020, started a few organizations focused on boarding and grooming horses, land improvement, housing development and finishing.

Joseph Harding gained an unmistakable quality in the political circle after supporting a dubious law called the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in 2022. The bill that prevented study halls from discussing sexual orientation and sexual orientation was passed. the character of guidance in the state’s primary schools. in regulation by conservative Gov. Ron DeSantis despite judgment from some groups, including the nation’s LGBTQ groups.

Months after the bill passed, a government grand jury indicted Harding for misrepresentation in December 2022, after he was seen lying about two requests for coronavirus relief money at two manufactured companies.

According to the Justice Department, while still in office, Harding misused the assets obtained through credit and moved the cash to his joint ledger, moved the cash to an off-balance sheet, and made an installment payment. on a credit card bill.

Joseph Harding Posts Announcement After Admitting to Extortion Not long after confessing to charges, Harding made an announcement acknowledging wrongdoing and said he has since returned the loan to the SBA. In a lengthy explanation, Harding said:

A Republican politician in Florida who sponsored the “Don’t Say Gay” bill has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, money laundering and false statements in connection with pandemic aid fraud. Joseph Harding made up how many employees he had and submitted false bank statements. pic.twitter.com/B48Mj7Qnoh

— Fifty Shades of Serum (@davenewworld_2) March 22, 2023

“Today I granted specific charges related to the coronavirus-related credits that I had applied for. I deeply regret my activities that led to these charges. I disappointed my family, my constituents and the people who have supported me over time. I only have myself to blame.

“The best anyone can hope for right now is to focus on the future and get this right. To this end, in the spring of 2021, I refunded the SBA advance in full, and currently the best anyone can hope for right now is to continue to come clean, apologize to those I have wronged and let down, and then show the world that with God everything is conceivable.”
According to numerous reports, Harding’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 25; each time he is convicted, he must serve more than 35 years in prison, with a limit of 20 years for the electronic extortion charge.