Tag Archives: US Attorney

Feds Charge Dale Holness’ Campaign Guru With Conspiracy To Commit Bank Fraud & Wire Fraud To Fraudulently Obtain PPP Loan

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Omar Smith

Federal prosecutors charged Omar Miguel Smith with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud to fraudulently obtain a PPP Covid-19 relief loan on Monday. Smith is former Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness’ campaign guru. In 2020, REDBROWARD was first to expose Smith’s controversial $300,000 PPP loan for his marketing company A Star For I.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, on his application for a $212,500 forgivable, federally-guaranteed Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan on behalf of A Star For I, Inc., “Smith claimed in the on-line loan application, and through supporting fraudulent payroll tax forms, that his company employed 30 people and spent an average of $85,000 each month on payroll. In fact, A Star For I, Inc had zero employees and no payroll expenses.” A Utah bank approved A Star For I, Inc.’s PPP loan application “based on the lies and wired $212,500 to the company’s bank account in Florida.”

Prosecutors alleged that after the money was deposited in July 2020, Omar Smith “spent the next few months creating a paper trail to make it appear as if A Star For I, Inc. in fact had employees and was spending the PPP money on legitimate, approved expenses.” According to the information, Smith issued checks from the company bank account made out to others who did little or no work for his company.

The U.S. Attorney charged Omar Smith with conspiring to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. If convicted, Smith faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

Last month, Damara Holness, daughter of Dale Holness, started a lengthy prison sentence in Mariana, Florida for PPP loan fraud. Like Smith, Damara Holness was accused of making up employees and writing checks to accomplices to hide her fraud. According to authorities, Holness never returned more than $180,000 in cash.

REDBROWARD has documented Omar Smith’s extensive role in Dale Holness’ political campaigns and the campaign of Holness’ political allies. REDBROWARD was first to expose Omar Smith’s role in creating shady political action committees supporting Holness and his allies. The committees include the Federal political committee known as “People of Principle.”

Dale Holness Throws Son Under The Bus, Claims He Does Not Know If Son Received Check From Daughter’s PPP Loan Scheme

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Does Dale Holness Know Best?

In a bizarre effort to address claims he threw his daughter “under the bus” following her arrest last month for her role in federal conspiracy to fraudulently obtain a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan, Broward County Commissioner Dale Holness threw his son under the very same bus. Last month, the U.S. Attorney charged Damara Holness with conspiracy to commit wire fraud to obtain a $350,000 PPP loan. In August 2020, REDBROWARD first exposed how Damara Holness landed a huge loan using her father’s business address in loan documents.

Dale Holness quickly tried to distance himself from his daughter. Following her arrest, Dale Holness made the laughable claim that he was “estranged for years” from Damara Holness. REDBROWARD showed the deep political ties between father and daughter over the few election cycles. Apparently, REDBROWARD readers were not the only ones to think Holness threw his daughter under the bus.

On August 21, 2021 Dale Holness was the guest on the “RACE and The Races” Facebook program. From the start, Holness showed his displeasure with the hosts who dared to discuss the recent arrest of Damara Holness. He scolded hosts Narnike Grant and Sandra Cherfrere for listening to “gossip” that could damage his chances to win the U.S Congressional seat previously held by Alcee Hastings.

Both hosts stated that black women were unhappy with Holness’ “estranged” statement following Damara Holness’ arrest. They wondered why Holness “threw his daughter under the bus” instead of saying nothing.

How did Dale Holness respond?

UNDER THE BUS

The U.S. Attorney alleges Damara Holness wrote checks to individuals in an attempt to conceal her PPP loan fraud. The Federal Government alleges Damara Holness wrote checks to individuals who then endorsed the checks back to her. Once the checks were cashed, the individuals received a small percentage of the amount while Damara Holness kept the rest.

During his appearance on “RACE and The Races,” Dale Holness appeared desperate to distance himself from this check cashing scheme. So desperate that he appears to implicate his namesake son in his daughter’s scheme.

Holness was angry that one of the hosts mentioned he may have received a check from Damara Holness. “Nonsense,” Holness said. But Dale Holness was not satisfied with his denial. He decided to throw his son under the bus.

Holness said, “I have a son, Dale Holness, similar to mine. I don’t know if he got any but I didn’t get no check.”

Dale Holness continued, “you have to be careful when you put stuff out there, it’s dangerous and damaging to people….”

Umm, yeah.

So why did Dale Holness bring his 35 year old son into this?

Does Dale Holness know that checks were made out to “Dale Holness?”

His son was never mentioned in the charging documents.

Why would Dale Holness do something so “dangerous and damaging” like dropping his son into the middle of an ongoing Federal investigation?

Is Dale Holness so desperate to save his own political skin that he would throw not one but two of his children under the bus?

A real father of the year.