It took about 24 hours for state Rep. Joe Harding to resign from his House seat after news broke this week that the Ocala Republican had been charged with fraudulently obtaining coronavirus-related business loans.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida announced Wednesday that a grand jury indicted Harding on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements. The charges involve an alleged scheme to defraud the Small Business Association’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program designed to help businesses recover from the pandemic’s effects on the economy.

Without commenting on details of the case, Harding contended in a prepared statement Thursday that he “repaid every penny” of the more than $150,000 that the 12-page indictment said Harding “obtained and attempted to obtain” through the alleged scheme.

“There will be a time when I can tell my story in detail, and I will,” Harding said in the statement. “For now, let me reassure my constituents and the taxpayers that I repaid every penny of the loan I obtained, and I have done my best to cooperate fully with all authorities.”

A financial-disclosure form filed with the state listed Harding’s net worth at $456,564 at the end of 2021.

Harding’s resignation garnered headlines throughout Florida and nationally, in large part because he sponsored a high-profile and controversial education measure that passed during the 2022 legislative session.

The measure, which in part prohibits...

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