Broward Politician’s Daughter Accused Of COVID-19 Relief Fraud

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL — The 28-year-old daughter of Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness has been accused of COVID-19 relief fraud.

Damara Holness of Fort Lauderdale was accused of lying on a coronavirus relief loan application and fraudulently obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help small business survive the pandemic, according to a news release from the Department of Justice.

She was charged with one count of conspiring to commit wire fraud. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, the DOJ said.

In June 2020, Damara applied for a $300,000 forgivable, federally guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of her company, Holness Consulting, Inc., according to information filed in federal district court in Fort Lauderdale Tuesday.

To justify the request, in her online application she claimed to employ 18 people and that her company spent an average of $120,000 on payroll each month, the DOJ said. She also supported this claim by submitting fraudulent payroll tax forms.

Her company had zero employees and no payroll expenses.

After receiving the money in July 2020, Damara created a paper trail to make it appear as if Holness Consulting had employees and was spending the PPP money on legitimate, approved expenses, the DOJ said.

She issued checks from the company bank account to people who agreed to help her with the fraud for a fee. They endorsed the checks and returned a portion of the money – about $1,000 per check – to Damara, who kept the funds, the DOJ said.

Damara is a former president of the Broward County Democratic Black Caucus.

Her father, Dale Holness, represents District 9 in Broward County. He is running for the U.S. House seat left vacant by the death of longtime Rep. Alsee Hastings earlier this year.

In a post published on his campaign’s Facebook page, he indicated that he doesn’t have a close relationship with his daughter.

“She has made it clear to me on multiple occasions that she is an adult and as such, has conducted her own affairs. If she has done wrong, I hope she learns from this and uses this as a lesson to better conduct her life in the future,” Dale wrote.

He said he has “always offered guidance and counsel” to Damara, encouraging her “to do what is right.”

Dale said he has “no details as to how she conducted her business or what she did with her business entities.”

He added that 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” since 2018.