KS lawmaker behind "In God We Trust" bill found guilty of COVID Relief Fraud

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Only Sky

POLITICS

KS lawmaker behind “In God We Trust” bill found guilty of COVID Relief Fraud

Michael Capps, the Christian nationalist and former Kansas legislator, faces decades in jail and millions in fines

by HEMANT MEHTA
DEC 23, 2022

Michael Capps, a former Kansas lawmaker who once sponsored a bill to put the words “In God We Trust” in every federal building, has been found guilty of committing COVID relief fraud and money laundering.

His career wasn’t supposed to end this way. In 2018, the Republican was appointed to the Kansas State House and won his own election bid later that year. Like other members of his party, he used his time in office to push Christianity on everyone. That’s why, in addition to his anti-trans and anti-abortion bills, Capps sponsored a bill to put “In God We Trust” in public buildings, including public schools.

{snip}

In 2020, when he ran for re-election, one of his campaign ads even opened with the line, “We’ve brought God back into our schools!” (That was a lie, but there you have it.)

After losing that race, he could have just faded away. Instead, in 2021, Capps was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of COVID relief fraud and money laundering:

-- An indictment filed by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas says Capps bilked federal, state and local agencies for more than $450,000 in COVID-19 business recovery funds.
-- Capps inflated his payroll and applied for loans to pay employees who don’t exist, according to the indictment.
-- The federal indictment says Capps laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID relief funding through his businesses and charity between May and August 2020.

{snip}

HEMANT MEHTA
Hemant Mehta is the founder of FriendlyAtheist.com, a YouTube creator, podcast co-host, and author of multiple books about atheism. He can be reached at @HemantMehta. https://twitter.com/hemantmehta

Read more: https://onlysky.media/hemant-mehta/michael-capps-kansas-lawmaker-god-guilty-covid-relief-fraud/

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Kevin M. Kruse Retweeted
https://twitter.com/KevinMKruse

When Michael Capps was a Kansas lawmaker, he sponsored a bill to put "In God We Trust" in every federal building because religion and morality were intertwined.

Anyway, guess who was just found guilty of COVID relief fraud and money laundering?

onlysky.media
KS lawmaker behind "In God We Trust" bill found guilty of COVID Relief Fraud
Michael Capps, the Christian nationalist and former Kansas legislator, was found guilty of COVID fraud and faces decades in jail.

Link to tweet

-- -- -- -- --

Let's go for a real news source.

POLITICS & GOVERNMENT

Jury finds Michael Capps, former Kansas legislator, guilty of federal COVID-19 fraud
https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article270254677.html

BY CHANCE SWAIM UPDATED DECEMBER 22, 2022 11:55 AM

WICHITA Michael Capps, a 44-year-old Wichita business owner, was found guilty Wednesday of 12 felony charges for lying on applications for federal COVID-19 relief aid while he was a member of the Kansas House of Representatives.

A federal jury announced the decision at 4 p.m. Wednesday after deliberating more than eight hours over multiple days.

The FBI began investigating Capps after a 2020 Wichita Eagle investigation found Capps inflated payroll information, revenues and employee numbers to maximize federal awards to three entities under his control — Midwest Business Group, Krivacy and the nonprofit Fourth and Long Foundation.

{snip}

[Demovictory9]

1. World will.be.better with him in jail

[TheBlackAdder]

11. I thought the first rule of criming is to not draw attention to yourself.

[keithbvadu2]

2. Must be a different God than the one who said something about not stealing.

Must be a different God than the one who said something about not stealing.

[SouthernDem4ever]

19. THIS!

[marble falls]

3. He'll look mighty grand in orange behind bars. I'd really like to hear how he rationalized it.

[machoneman]

23. I don't think the prison has a orange jumpsuit big enough for this way overweight fellow. It's o.k.

as prison food will slim him down in a hurry! Hah!

[marble falls]

24. Let him walk around in his tightie orangies until he get down to a felon's weight class ...

... the larcenous twit.

[BOSSHOG]

31. Thanks for the memories

Many many years ago at my favorite watering hole in South Louisiana, the proprietress would serve free “prison food” at lunchtime every wednesday - a bologna sandwich with a bag of chips. She had us regulars “groomed” to drink lotsa beer with our “free” lunch. Oh I love my good old days.

[Ligyron]

29. Well his food intake will be "rationalized" in prison.

He’ll lose a lot of that gut and slim down for baby Jesus who just hates gluttony.

[RKP5637]

4. Throw God into something and some people will flock to it. Send more money NOW! n/t

[Evolve Dammit]

7. Sadly, there is much truth in that.

[Chainfire]

5. Perhaps he will be allowed to post an "In God We Trust" sign in his cell.

His biggest lie is in claiming that morality and religion are intertwined.

[calimary]

12. Looks like he might need a bigger cell.

If he really IS into morality and religion, he should know gluttony is a sin.

[riversedge]

41. He is rather big. First thing I noticed.

[calimary]

42. I think gluttony is one of the capital sins.

As in bigness and badness. It’s been a LONG time since Catholic school. Looked it up. There it is.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_deadly_sins

[Crowman2009]

6. That phrase didn't show widespread until the 1950's.

So they can't really use the baseless phrase as coming from the founding fathers. Similar to the addition of "one nation under god", or even the filibuster.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. 8 Hours Of Deliberation...

...for 12 counts!
Sounds like the evidence was pretty cut & dried.

[BOSSHOG]

30. Must have been a good lunch

The jury was dragging its feet for.

[ProfessorGAC]

36. I Didn't Get Lunch!!!

I was on a jury March of 2020. Lunchtime? You're on your own.
It was only 2.5 days, so no whining from me.
BTW: The case was so flimsy I took the first vote after 20 minutes of deliberation. 12 not guilty votes. Trial over.
The prosecution barely established anything at all happened let alone a crime committed by the defendant .

[BOSSHOG]

38. I served on at least 4 Courtmartials

And in every one the prosecution was at least borderline pathetic. I voted to acquit one airman who was charged with having weed mailed to his barracks room. The prosecution did not prove that assertion. Didn’t come close. I was the loan vote for acquittal. He may well have arranged that mailing but the navy prosecutor came no where near proving it.

[Stuart G]

9. He may find prison a difficult place, and he sure didn't think it would end this way..Did he?

[TheBlackAdder]

10. Sounds like he wanted 450,000 'In God We Trust' bills.

[Scalded Nun]

13. How I SO love it when these assholes get nailed!

[marble falls]

25. Hubris is a merciless jokester.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Clearly, Capps does not fear a vengeful god's retribution or fiery lakes of brimstone. . . . nt

[GenThePerservering]

39. He'd just float, anyway. nt

[republianmushroom]

15. Just some more republican family values.

[Trueblue1968]

16. heathen !!!

[Martin68]

17. Oh, the irony!

Lost on Republicans, of course.

[Grins]

18. Why can't they just say "Kansas Republican?"

Upfront. So we don’t have to dig. Again. Do they just assume…?

[marble falls]

26. Who needs to look it up? 95% of the time, GOP is as safe as hell bet.

[mwb970]

35. You can usually tell from the headline.

[Stainless]

20. His Grocery Bill Must Be Why He Needed The Money?

Hopefully he'll get to work in the prison kitchen so he can maintain his pig physique.

[keroro gunsou]

21. In god we trust

All others, pay cash up front. Especially lobbyists.

Not fat shaming the dude (as I’m sort of in the same boat) but what a greedy fucking pig, taking that money that could have helped someone who really might have needed it.

[BOSSHOG]

32. But he is a "Christian"

WWJD about what he did? Asking for a former altar boy.

[keroro gunsou]

43. Well...

In any decently run multi-verse, he’d slap the shit out of him. Money changers in the temple and all that rot.

[Old Crank]

22. I just have to wonder

just what kind of all knowing and all powerful supreme being allows his good followers to do these things?
It's almost as if he doesn't care or doesn't exist.

[marble falls]

27. That divine power allows free will to choose wrongly. There's also retribution ...

... prison time works for me.

[SWBTATTReg]

28. Looks like his motto wasn't 'In God We Trust' but 'In the US Dollars We trust', especially those

that he stole under false pretenses.

[Wolf Frankula]

33. Put the full motto

'In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash.'

Wolf

[mwb970]

34. Conservatives are terrible. Conservative CHRISTIANS are the absolute worst.

If their god were real, he would have smitten them by now.

[NCjack]

37. God told him "OK to steal that money". So, he did.

[ck4829]

40. K&R

Last edited Tue Jan 3, 2023, 09:29 AM - Edit history (1)

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