In total, businesses were defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of relief funds. By clicking Sign Up, I confirmthat I have read and agreeto the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. Lary is accused of stealing more than $650,000 in COVID-19 relief funds meant to help the people of Stonecrest who he was supposed to serve. The relief funds were designed to cover costs during the public health emergency. No stone was more important than the cornerstone because the integrity of the whole structure depended on the cornerstone containing . Richard B. Russell Federal Building Stonecrest ex-mayor's cohort pleads guilty in fraud scheme That decision will be made at a later date. FORMER MAYOR ADMITS ROLE IN COVID RELIEF FRAUD SCHEME. Stone clemency order shows Trump wiped prison sentence, supervised Lary and others falsely claimed that the money would be each businesss contribution to Stonecrest-related marketing and advertising. During a struggle to implement new city manager, Lary said he was facing what could be his third battle with cancer. Under the CARES Act, the federal government distributed COVID-19 relief funds to individual Americans, federal agencies, and state and local governments, including $125 million to DeKalb County. The 60-year-old Lary pleaded guilty in January to fraud and theft charges. Hardworking people like us, Will Morrell said. She also agreed to pay restitution. Lary also made the defendants wife, Lania Boone, the bookkeeper charged with distributing relief funds. Lary resigned a day before he pleaded guilty to. 2023 FOX Television Stations. Third, Lary and others acting on his behalf solicited relief funds from businesses that received grants under the Small Business Program. Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary is met by FOX 5 I-Team Reporter Randy Travis as he walks into the federal courthouse in Atlanta to enter a guilty plea to stealing CARES Act money on Jan.. A lock ( For more information on the Departments response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. He does not have to report to prison until Dec. 15, so he can continue treatment for prostate cancer. 100 people involved in a total of $26 million in CARES Act fraud. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Georgia, Former U.S. Former Stonecrest mayor sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for stealing COVID-19 relief funds. Main Office: Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. He explained he needs to take some time to work with doctors and care for himself. This story is breaking. Lary, 59, was the first mayor of Stonecrest, a DeKalb County city of about . Former Stonecrest mayor pleads guilty to federal fraud charges Former Stonecrest mayor Jason Lary is asking for a lighter sentence than he faces after pleading guilty to allegedly stealing COVID relief funds awarded to the city during the pandemic. Clarence Boone, 60, of Decatur, Georgia, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program theft and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 13, 2023. All rights reserved. Lary did not tell the businesses that he controlled these entities. The indictment alleges that Smith stole more than $450,000 in Social Security Administration Northern District of Georgia SB 300, also called the Sentencing Reform Act, would rewrite part of Proposition 115, a 1990 ballot initiative that expanded the definition of first-degree murder to include murder committed . His plea came the same morning his resignation as mayor of Stonecrest became official. Stonecrest Mayor Pleads Guilty to Federal Fraud Charges Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. "The question of compassion to this Honorable Court is what is the appropriate sentenced for the conduct of this Defendant who, when confronted 'fessed up' and avoided costly indictment and made good faith efforts to cooperate with the Government," court documents read. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. The federal government permitted DeKalb County to further disburse these relief funds to its municipalities. "There was never an interest on anybodys part to kick back or filter money back or any of that nonsense.". Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. Main Office: For further information please contact the U.S. Attorneys Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. With Lary now 60 years old and with no criminal history, his legal team requested that house arrest, community service and statutory required supervision be considered for his sentence. Credit: Photo courtesy of Boston College Athletics, Former Stonecrest mayor pleads guilty to federal fraud charges, Stonecrest passes on March election date to replace mayor after guilty fraud plea, Jahmyr Gibbs: Georgia Tech helped make me who I am today, Georgia Tech closes regular season with win over Boston College. Later, in March 2021, after learning of an investigation into the citys handling of relief funds and knowing that the business had never filed paperwork to support the grant, Clarence Boone attempted to conceal the scheme by directing the businesss owner to submit an application that contained false statements, even though the Small Business Program had already ceased operations. The 45-minute Zoom call in which he announced his resignation was hacked and briefly displayed a video game and then a brief snippet of pornography. As mayor, he took control of who received $6.2 million in CARES Act money. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justices National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Former Stonecrest mayor pleads guilty to federal fraud charges Former Stonecrest mayor resigns and plead guilty to federal fraud charges. Lock Prosecutors said the 59-year-old former mayor concocted a scheme to divert funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Stonecrest's Jason Lary COVID funds fraud case - 11Alive.com ATLANTA - Clarence Boone, the former Senior Economic Development Manager of Stonecrest, pleaded guilty to conspiring with his wife, Lania Boone, and the former Mayor of Stonecrest, Jason Lary, to steal pandemic relief funds intended to support small businesses in Stonecrest. A former suburban Atlanta mayor was sentenced to nearly five years in prison on Wednesday for masterminding a scheme to steal nearly $925,000 of the $6.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds that. Atlanta, GA 30303-3309. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. Under the CARES Act, the federal government distributed COVID-19 relief funds to individual Americans, federal agencies, and state and local governments, including $125 million to DeKalb County. The former Mayor of Stonecrest Jason Lary pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing COVID-19 relief funds that were supposed to go to struggling businesses. Federal prosecutors said that in addition to paying off personal debt, Lary conducted a scheme where he asked small businesses and churches to whom he allocated grants to give 25% of the money to companies connected to himself and co-conspirators. "Boones guilty plea further demonstrates our commitment to prosecuting those who seek to exploit COVID relief programs for their own gain. 2: Person of Interest. Lary announced his resignation during a Zoom meeting on Tuesday. For more information on the Departments response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Stonecrest did not disburse the $6 million allocated to the Stonecrest Cares Program and Small Business Program. I should've stayed out for several months, but circumstances prevailed where I needed to come back earlier," Lary said. In general, according to the Department of the Treasury, relief funds could only be used to cover costs that [were] necessary expenditures incurred due to the public health emergency. Check back for details. ATLANTA Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary was sentenced to 57 months in prison Wednesday after he stole more than $650,000 in COVID-19 relief funds meant for the recovery of businesses, churches and the people of the city. Former Stonecrest mayor sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for The people of Stonecrest deserved better, and corrupt officials can expect severe consequences for using their offices to commit crimes.. Federal authorities brought the mayor of Stonecrest to court alleging he stole hundreds of thousands of dollars in COVID-19 relief granted to the city. Former Stonecrest mayor pleads guilty to federal fraud charges, Former Stonecrest mayor resigns and plead guilty to federal fraud charges, WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta facebook feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta twitter feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta instagram feed(Opens a new window), WSB-TV Channel 2 - Atlanta youtube feed(Opens a new window), more than $650,000 in COVID-19 relief funds, Reality star Honey Boo Boo was inside speeding Dodge Charger involved in chase with Ga. deputies, 49-year-old man shot multiple times during drug deal in northeast Atlanta, police say, A 17-year-old Gwinnett County girl thought she was taking Percocet; now shes dead, Man rescued after being accidentally buried alive in Cherokee County, Our capital city will die: Georgia senators reject proposal to separate Buckhead from Atlanta. "You don't recognize Mayor Pro Tem and council and just leave me standing there like I'm not in the meeting. ATLANTA Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary was sentenced to 57 months in prison Wednesday after he stole more than $650,000 in COVID-19 relief funds meant for the recovery of businesses,. The three conspired to steal and misappropriate relief funds intended for struggling businesses in Stonecrest. Ronald Bell, who conspired to extort money from Georgia Institute of Technology, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit extortion. Lary wont be required to report to prison until after Dec. 15, giving him time for more cancer treatments. Lary is due in court to answer for fraud allegations. Stonecrest's former Senior Economic Development Manager pleads guilty Lock Secure .gov websites use HTTPS Channel 2s Audrey Washington called and emailed Stonecrest officials about the announcement and the hack. Official websites use .gov An official website of the United States government. The city's first mayor did not mention his legal troubles in a resignation speech. The application included the question, are you willing to allocate 25% of your grant to marketing your business? Hundreds of businesses applied for relief funds, but most of the applicants were rejected. Jason Lary received a sentence of four years and nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $119,607.69. "If you don't know protocol, you better learn it with me," said Lary. A lock ( An official website of the United States government. This sentencing holds Lary accountable for abusing his position of trust and blatant disrespect for the law.. He said he had surgery in late December 2020. The population is now 60,000 with a budget of more than $13 million. He also resigned as the citys mayor. One of the grants was to his church, which he awarded $150,000. If the special election for the mayors seat requires a runoff election, it will take place June 21. ", Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary is met by FOX 5 I-Team Reporter Randy Travis as he walks into the federal courthouse in Atlanta to enter a guilty plea to stealing CARES Act money on Jan. 5, 2022. Lary allegedly had the city improperly enter into a contract with a recently founded nonprofit, Municipal Resource Partners Corporation, to distribute the citys funds as a way to siphon money toward himself and cohorts. Ignoring input from the official selection committee, from about November 2020, until about February 2021, Boone signed dozens of checks on behalf of MRPC, directing relief funds to individuals, businesses, churches, and non-profit organizations of Larys own choosing. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. ATLANTA Jason Lary, the former Mayor of the City of Stonecrest, has been sentenced for using his elected office to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds allocated to the city. A bookkeeper and spouse of a - DeKalb County News Now | Facebook The DeKalb County District Attorneys Office will continue to work with its law enforcement partners to bring these bad actors to justice, said DeKalb County District Attorney Sherry Boston. Stonecrest mayor pleads guilty to federal fraud charges, Former mayor of Stonecrest, bookkeeper plead guilty to theft of COVID-19 relief funds, LIST: Schools across Georgia closing early ahead of possible severe weather, Gallery of storm damage across GA: Send us your photos, videos, Firefighters rescue Cherokee County man buried up to his neck in trench, Excel Church gives despite recovery from fire, Father and 9-month-old daughter reported missing in Clayton County, 26-year-old woman shot while driving in Decatur, Sign up for Atlanta News First Newsletters. Stonecrest mayor appeared in federal court about misusing CARES fund Mayor Jason Lary and others in the city of Stonecrest is charged with mishandling 650,000 of CARES money meant for the citizens of Stonecrest. Lary, who faces up to 35 years in prison, will be sentenced on May 2. Lary faces up to 35 years in prison on all three counts. Richard B. Russell Federal Building Lary betrayed the trust placed in him by the citizens of Stonecrest by stealing the very funds meant to help his constituents weather the COVID-19 pandemic, said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. Lania Boone pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit federal program theft on February 11, 2022. The qualification period will take place roughly a month before the election date, and it must end 25 days before the election takes place. On Wednesday, Channel 2s Tom Jones was in the courtroom as Lary pleaded guilty to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit federal program theft and federal program theft. In another case, Lary allegedly gave a church $50,000. Lary was also ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution as well. MATTIE'S CALL: A 9-month-old baby girl was reported missing from the Ellenwood area with a man police say was diagnosed with a mental illness. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]. His sentencing is set for May 2. The Stone that the Builders Rejected Became the Cornerstone? Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Wilmot previously prosecuted the case. Lary previously denied the accusations of fraud. "Quite frankly folks, now its turned ugly," he said during a news conference in April 2021. STONECREST MAYOR RESPONDS TO ACCUSATIONS OF CARES ACT FUNDS MISUSE.