Former Rep. Joe Harding Sentenced to Four Months in Prison On COVID Loan Fraud Charges; Tom Suozzi Took Donations From NY Doc Accused of Stealing $1.3M From Medicaid, and other C-Virus related stories

By admin On Oct 26, 2023

Former Rep. Joe Harding sentenced to four months in prison on COVID loan fraud charges:

A federal judge Thursday sentenced former state Rep. Joe Harding to four months in prison after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently applying for business loans during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harding, an Ocala Republican who drew national attention in 2022 when he sponsored a bill that restricted instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in schools, is expected to start the prison term on Jan. 29, according to a court document.

U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, who held a hearing in Gainesville, also sentenced Harding to two years of supervised release after he leaves prison, the document said.

Harding pleaded guilty in March to charges of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements.

The charges, in part, involved providing false information in December 2020 to the federal Small Business Administration to receive a $150,000 pandemic-relief loan in the name of The Vak Shack Inc., a company that did not have any business activity in 2019 or 2020, a March court document said. Harding also was accused of fraudulently seeking a loan for another business, though that loan was turned down.

Harding, 36, was first elected to the House in 2020 and was re-elected without opposition in 2022 in Marion County’s House District 24. But he was indicted by a federal grand jury a short time after his re-election and resigned from office in December 2022. —>READ MORE HERE

Tom Suozzi took donations from NY doc accused of stealing $1.3M from Medicaid:

Former Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi — who is vying to return to Congress — rang up $20,400 in campaign contributions from an allegedly crooked cardiologist accused of stealing more than $1.3 million in Medicare and Medicaid funds, records show.

Suozzi, who has long boasted he’s the rare Democrat with enough independence and experience to fight Medicaid fraud, received the contributions from Dr. Perry Frankel from July 2020 through February 2022.

Much of the cash — $16,000 — went towards the longtime pol’s failed 2022 gubernatorial run, and the rest went into his congressional campaign coffers.

Suozzi, 61, received the first donation of $500 a month before inviting Frankel’s mobile cardiology operation to Glen Glove in June 2020.

Weeks later, he reportedly awarded Frankel with a government citation for his work assisting quarantined patients during the height of the pandemic.