Campaign Under Scrutiny After Arrest Of Candidate's Daughter

Miami FL

01 September, 2021

2:49 PM

Description

A Miami Times Staff Report Aug 31, 2021 Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness' 28-year-old daughter was charged with conspiring to commit wire fraud last week, after allegedly defrauding a federal government program of more than $300,000 last year. Federal prosecutors accused Damara Holness, a political consultant, of lying about the financial needs of her Plantation, Fla., consulting company to qualify for a federal Paycheck Protection Program loan. According to prosecutors, she "claimed in the online loan application, and through supporting fraudulent payroll tax forms, that her company employed 18 people and spent an average of $120,000 each month on payroll." But through their investigation, prosecutors learned Holness Consulting, the company Damara Holness requested the loans for, had zero employees and no payroll expenses. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. She made her initial court appearance Wednesday, before being released on a $100,000 personal surety bond. Her father, who is running for congress, seeking to replace the late U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings, said that he and Damara "have been estranged for years." Yet Florida public records show Damara Holness ran her consulting business out of the same office as her father's real estate business, All Broward Realty, in Plantation. When asked about the same address for both businesses, the elder Holness told the Miami Herald: "She never conducted any business in my office nor did she have keys to my office." Dale Holness began his political career in 2004 as a city of Lauderhill commissioner. He served in that role until getting elected to the Broward County Commission in 2010. Last year, he served as Broward's mayor and is now running against 10 others in the Democratic special primary election for Hastings' seat, set for November. His daughter's indictment has raised questions about whether he was involved, although the federal investigation didn't cite any connections, according to a statement by Damara Holness' defense attorney. The Miami Times is the largest Black-owned newspaper in the south serving Miami's Black community since 1923. The award-winning weekly is frequently recognized as the best Black newspaper in the country by the National Newspaper Publishers Association.