Former Kansas lawmaker convicted of COVID-19 relief fraud

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A federal jury has found a former Kansas state lawmaker guilty of 12 felonies for lying on applications for federal COVID-19 relief. Prosecutors said 44-year-old Wichita Republican Michael Capps filed forms inflating the number of employees he had at two businesses and a sports foundation, and then applied for loans to pay the nonexistent employees. The Wichita Eagle reports that Capps was found guilty Wednesday of making false statements on loan applications, bank fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. He could face millions of dollars in fines and decades in prison at sentencing. Capps was acquitted Wednesday on six other counts. Capps was a state legislator at the time of the fraud.