$300K PPP fraud case ensnares daughter of Florida Dem seeking US House seat, report says
Damara Holness is accused of lying to get $300,000 in forgivable PPP loan money from the federal government
The daughter of a former mayor of Broward County, Florida, is accused of defrauding the federal COVID-19 relief program, according to a report.
Damara Holness, 28, lied to get $300,000 in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan money from the federal government, authorities said, according to WSVN-TV of Miami.
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Her father, Dale Holness, was mayor of the county during the first year of the pandemic. He is now a Democratic candidate for a U.S. House seat in the state's 20th Congressional District.
Investigators said Damara Holness used her father’s campaign headquarters as her business address on the loan application.
The suspect "falsely stated that Holness Consulting had 18 employees and had an average monthly payroll of $120,000" on her June 2020 loan application, authorities said.
The application also stated "Holness Consulting paid wages of $1,440,000" in 2019, according to WSVN.
SMALL BUSINESSES CAN APPLY FOR PPP LOAN FORGIVENESS DIRECTLY THROUGH NEW PORTAL
The state says the business was dissolved in 2020, but was reinstated a few days before the loan was submitted.
Federal investigators said over a three-month period, Holness issued checks to persons to make it look like the organization had employees. They would get $200 to endorse the checks and then return them to Holness, who allegedly would cash them.
The former mayor said he is estranged from his daughter.
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In a statement, he said, "Damara has had no access to my real estate business, office, or had my permission to use my address or to conduct business on behalf of the Holness family name nor myself. She has had no access to my office since 2018."