KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A former Kansas state representative has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he defrauded federal, state and local governments of nearly $500,000 of COVID-19 relief funds.
Michael Capps, 43, of Wichita, was charged with 19 total counts of fraud for a scheme in which he allegedly made false business filings to obtain funding from various federal, state and local programs established to help businesses navigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Capps served as a Republican member of the Kansas House of Representatives from July 14, 2018 through Jan. 11, 2021.
Following an investigation of Capps tied to questions over his involvement in a Wichita mayoral election, some members of the Kansas Republican Party, including U.S. Rep. Ron Estes, called for Capps to step down in 2020.
According to a press release announcing the indictment, Capps faces the following charges:
- Eight counts of money laundering;
- Three counts of providing false statements to the Small Business Administration for Economic Injury Disaster Loans;
- Three counts of wire fraud connected with SBA’s EIDL funds;
- Two counts of wire fraud connected to grants from the Kansas Department of Commerce;
- One count of making a false statement to a bank to obtain a PPP loan;
- One count of bank fraud in connection to a PPP loan;
- One count of wire fraud in connection to a grant from Sedgwick County, Kansas.
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