Former Kansas state lawmaker convicted of COVID-19 relief fraud

WICHITA, Kan. (KWCH/Gray News) - Former Kansas state lawmaker Michael Capps, 44, was found guilty by a federal jury Wednesday of 12 felonies for lying on applications for federal COVID-19 relief, KWCH reports.

A jury found Capps guilty of three counts of making false statements to apply for loans, one count of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud and four counts of money laundering.

Federal prosecutors say Capps lied about the number of employees he had and the revenue brought in through ventures that include Krivacy, LLC and the Fourth and Long Foundation. They say he also made a false statement to a bank for a PPP loan.

Capps faces the possibility of several years in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines. The two steepest penalties are for the false statement to a bank for the PPP loan and the bank fraud charge. Each one carries sentences of up to 30 years in prison.

Capps was also acquitted Wednesday on six other counts and a 19th count was dismissed before trial, court records show.