Gary Fineout
Thu, October 19, 2023
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — A federal judge on Thursday sentenced to prison a former Florida state legislator who catapulted to national attention for being the sponsor of a bill barring classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity that was called by its critics the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Former Rep. Joe Harding (R-Williston), who plead guilty in March to one count each of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements as part of a scheme to fraudulently obtain a $150,000 federal Covid-19 relief loan, was sentenced to four months in prison.
U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who was appointed to the bench by former President Donald Trump, also sentenced Harding to two years of supervised release following his prison sentence. Court records show that Harding is scheduled to surrender to authorities on Jan. 29.
“The theft of any amount of taxpayer funds is inexcusable,” said Jason Coody, the United States attorney for the Northern District of Florida, in a statement. “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.”
Harding was first elected to the state House in 2020 from a north central Florida seat that includes parts of Marion County. He resigned from the Legislature last December, one day after a federal grand jury indictment against him was unsealed.
In an August sentencing memo to the judge, federal prosecutors said that Harding’s contributions to his community were “commendable” but added that “his intentional criminal acts while serving as an elected state representative signify a betrayal of the public’s trust.” Coody concluded that a variance from sentencing guidelines was warranted because Harding repaid the loan and confessed after he was caught but he argued that some prison time was still needed to act as a deterrence.
Authorities accused Harding of using false bank statements for two dormant small businesses to obtain loans from the Small Business Administration during the pandemic. Harding told the SBA that one of the companies, The Vak Shack, for the 12 months prior to Jan. 31, 2020, had four employees and $420,874 in revenue, while Harding Farms had two employees and $392,000 in revenue, according to authorities.
Ryan Chamberlin, a Republican from Belleview, replaced Harding in the state House after winning a five-way GOP primary and then the special election held in May.
Titled "Parental Rights in Education," the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill Harding sponsored was signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis in 2022. It led to national condemnation from Democrats and LGBTQ supporters and a high profile battle between the governor and the Walt Disney Co., whose CEO at the time criticized the legislation.
Former Republican lawmaker Joe Harding of Ocala sentenced to 4 months in prison
Silas Morgan
Thu, October 19, 2023
Former Republican state lawmaker Joe Harding of Ocala, the architect of Florida's controversial law limiting discussions of gender and sexuality in public schools, was sentenced to four months in prison on charges of defrauding the government of $150,000 in pandemic aid.
Judge Allen Winsor sentenced Harding in U.S. District Court in Gainesville on Thursday. Harding’s family and friends wept throughout the proceedings. One spectator wept audibly after his sentence was read.
Harding’s brother, Pastor Daniel Harding, told the judge that his brother was a committed family man and pious Christian who taught kids softball instead of advancing his business interests.
“I ask for mercy,” he said.
Tallahassee political consultant Brett Doster said that Harding received advice to frame his prosecution as political persecution, but that he decided to be honest and take responsibility instead. Harding, who resigned from the Legislature, repaid the $150,000.
Winsor said that it was a difficult and sad case, and that Harding received a tremendous amount of family and community support. Prosecutor Justin Keen said he has no reasons to doubt any of the positive aspects of Harding’s character described in court.
Harding declined to answer questions as he left the courthouse.
More: Florida state Rep. Joe Harding indicted on federal wire fraud, money laundering charges
When he is released from prison, Harding will be required to serve two years of supervised release and pay a $300 fine. He was ordered to turn himself into custody by noon on Jan. 29.
Harding resigned from office in December shortly after being indicted on two counts each of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements. Had he been convicted on all counts, Harding could have faced up to 70 years in prison.
Harding initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, he ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of each charge, cutting the maximum prison sentence to 35 years.
Despite serving just over a single two-year term in the Florida House from 2020-2022, Harding gained notoriety for being the sponsor of the Parental Rights in Education Act, a bill derided by critics as the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill,’ which banned discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools from kindergarten through third grade. The law was later expanded to cover fourth through 12th grades.
More: School Board set to amend policies to adhere to 'Don't Say Gay' and 'Stop WOKE' bills
According to court records, Harding defrauded the federal government through loan applications with the federal government’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for two companies he owned that were inactive. He applied for a loan for both companies, but only one was approved.
Prosecutors said Harding used part of the money to pay his credit card balance. Some funds were shifted to the bank account of an oil company owned by his brother-in-law, Patrick Walsh. In January, Walsh was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for defrauding the federal government of $7.8 million in COVID-19 loans, some of which was used to purchase an island in the Gulf of Mexico.
During the sentencing, Keen noted it was Walsh who initially advised Harding to file the fraudulent applications as he had himself done. Winsor said he didn’t know if this case would’ve happened if Harding had a different brother-in-law.
Both men admitted to falsifying the number of employees, gross revenue and status of the businesses in their loan applications. Walsh’s younger brother, Tampa businessman Caleb Walsh, faced scrutiny from federal investigators during the summer over his own COVID-19 loans totaling $4.3 million.
This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at silas.morgan@ufl.edu.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Former Ocala lawmaker Joe Harding sentenced to 4 months in prison
Judge Allen Winsor sentenced Harding in U.S. District Court in Gainesville on Thursday. Harding’s family and friends wept throughout the proceedings. One spectator wept audibly after his sentence was read.
Harding’s brother, Pastor Daniel Harding, told the judge that his brother was a committed family man and pious Christian who taught kids softball instead of advancing his business interests.
“I ask for mercy,” he said.
Tallahassee political consultant Brett Doster said that Harding received advice to frame his prosecution as political persecution, but that he decided to be honest and take responsibility instead. Harding, who resigned from the Legislature, repaid the $150,000.
Winsor said that it was a difficult and sad case, and that Harding received a tremendous amount of family and community support. Prosecutor Justin Keen said he has no reasons to doubt any of the positive aspects of Harding’s character described in court.
Harding declined to answer questions as he left the courthouse.
More: Florida state Rep. Joe Harding indicted on federal wire fraud, money laundering charges
When he is released from prison, Harding will be required to serve two years of supervised release and pay a $300 fine. He was ordered to turn himself into custody by noon on Jan. 29.
Harding resigned from office in December shortly after being indicted on two counts each of wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements. Had he been convicted on all counts, Harding could have faced up to 70 years in prison.
Harding initially pleaded not guilty to all charges, but as part of a plea deal with prosecutors, he ultimately pleaded guilty to one count of each charge, cutting the maximum prison sentence to 35 years.
Despite serving just over a single two-year term in the Florida House from 2020-2022, Harding gained notoriety for being the sponsor of the Parental Rights in Education Act, a bill derided by critics as the ‘Don’t Say Gay Bill,’ which banned discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity in public schools from kindergarten through third grade. The law was later expanded to cover fourth through 12th grades.
More: School Board set to amend policies to adhere to 'Don't Say Gay' and 'Stop WOKE' bills
According to court records, Harding defrauded the federal government through loan applications with the federal government’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program for two companies he owned that were inactive. He applied for a loan for both companies, but only one was approved.
Prosecutors said Harding used part of the money to pay his credit card balance. Some funds were shifted to the bank account of an oil company owned by his brother-in-law, Patrick Walsh. In January, Walsh was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison for defrauding the federal government of $7.8 million in COVID-19 loans, some of which was used to purchase an island in the Gulf of Mexico.
During the sentencing, Keen noted it was Walsh who initially advised Harding to file the fraudulent applications as he had himself done. Winsor said he didn’t know if this case would’ve happened if Harding had a different brother-in-law.
Both men admitted to falsifying the number of employees, gross revenue and status of the businesses in their loan applications. Walsh’s younger brother, Tampa businessman Caleb Walsh, faced scrutiny from federal investigators during the summer over his own COVID-19 loans totaling $4.3 million.
This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporter can be reached at silas.morgan@ufl.edu.
This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Former Ocala lawmaker Joe Harding sentenced to 4 months in prison
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