Joseph Harding, whose Parental Rights and Education bill gained national attention in the summer of 2022, has been sentenced to four months in prison for fraudulently obtaining $150,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.
The verdict was announced in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida on Thursday, nearly seven months after Harding pled guilty to wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements.
The sentence draws a close to a case that began less than a year ago on December 7, 2022, when Harding was indicted by a federal grand jury.
Harding resigned from his House District 24 seat, which covers portions Ocala and Marion County, on the following day.
On Thursday, Harding was sentenced to four months on three counts, with the sentences running concurrently. After he serves his sentence, Harding will be subjected to two years of supervised release.
Since pleading guilty in March, attorneys for Harding and prosecutors had made several filings pertaining to the presentence investigation report, which provides information about an offender’s background and helps guide a court’s decision during sentencing.
That document has not been made available to the public.
Harding’s attorneys petitioned the court for a “downward variance” from his charges, citing his conduct throughout the proceedings.
Prosecutors for the country agreed in a sentencing memorandum filed on August 31.
“Harding made poor choices when he submitted his false applications for Small Business Administration loans. But since getting caught, Harding has done almost everything that could be expected of a person who is facing federal felony charges,” reads the memo from prosecutors.
Prosecutors say Harding “promptly confessed to law enforcement and paid restitution to the SBA.” They say he also assisted “law enforcement with their investigations” and entered a guilty plea “soon after his arraignment.”
Harding’s swift actions helped the government and the court to “allocate their resources efficiently,” according to prosecutors.
“The government agrees that these facts could warrant a downward variance,” reads the memo.
Harding had faced the possibility of up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge alone.
Now, Harding must surrender himself to U.S. Marshals in Gainesville no later than noon on January 29, 2024 to begin serving his sentence.