A former South Florida mayor’s daughter who recently campaigned for Congress was sentenced to prison for lying in order to get $300,000 in COVID-19 relief funds.
Damara Holness was sentenced to 20 months in federal prison for the Paycheck Protection Program fraud on Monday and was told to surrender to federal prison by noon on April 25.
During the epidemic, the scheme was created to keep companies viable. Holness, the daughter of former Broward County Mayor Dale Holness, was also sentenced to five years of supervised release on Monday.
She pled guilty in November, a day after her father lost a Democratic primary for a U.S. House seat by five votes.
In court filings, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Kaplan wrote, “The defendant viewed this as an opportunity to unfairly profit herself by scamming the program created to support those struggling businesses.”
Sue-Ann Robinson, Damara Holness’ lawyer, stated that it was “more an act of desperation than greed.”She stated that part of the funds were used for “housing arrangements” and taxes.
According to the South Florida SunSentinel, Holness apologized to the community, the government, and her family. She stated that she had an impact on her father’s profession.
Dale Holness stated that his daughter “took responsibility for her error.”We’re all just people. She’s admitted it.”
Damara Holness, 28, asked for the loan for her firm, Holness Consulting, according to court papers. According to the application, the company’s average monthly payroll for its 18 employees in 2019 was $120,000.
The company was formed in November 2018 before going out of business.
“On June 22, 2020, the defendant reopened the firm in order to secure the PPP loan.” “There were no workers and almost no income,” the prosecution noted in court records.
Prosecutors said Holness spent months after receiving the money constructing a paper trail.
According to court filings, she paid around $1,300 every two weeks to 22 persons, including a school bus driver and a security guard.
When the checks were cashed, the “workers” pocketed $300 and returned the remainder to Holness.
Defense counsel pleaded with the judge to reduce her sentence since she cooperated with investigators and has a small kid.
Prosecutors requested a sentence of 33 to 41 months in order to “develop respect for the law.”They also stated that Holness committed the offenses while pregnant and was “fully aware that she was giving birth and that she may go to jail if she was caught.”
