former stonecrest mayor's accomplice pleads guilty to felonymarc bernier funeral arrangements

We have no response about the Mayors resignation, city officials said. STONECREST MAYOR RESPONDS TO ACCUSATIONS OF CARES ACT FUNDS MISUSE. Around October 2021, the United States seized approximately $480,000 of fraud proceeds held in the bank accounts of Visit Us and Battleground Media. He also resigned as the citys mayor. The people of Stonecrest deserved better, and corrupt officials can expect severe consequences for using their offices to commit crimes.. Ronald Bell, who conspired to extort money from Georgia Institute of Technology, has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit extortion. The population is now 60,000 with a budget of more than $13 million. And while Lary falsely stated that the $50,000 would be used to assist with home repairs for people who could not afford them due to COVID-19, in reality he used the money for his own purposes, including to pay off his outstanding federal, state, and local tax liabilities. 2: Person of Interest. "Quite frankly folks, now its turned ugly," he said during a news conference in April 2021. We are putting measures into place to prevent what we experienced during the meeting.. Lania Boone received a sentence of six months and one day in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $7,657.47. his resignation as mayor of Stonecrest became official. A bookkeeper was also involved in the scheme and arraigned, records show. Lania Boone, 60, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge for her role in a scheme to steal . In total, businesses were defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of relief funds. The details of Boones plea deal are similar to the one Lary accepted. It's been five years since a Carroll County man mysteriously disappeared from his home. For example, Lary used relief funds held by Visit Us to pay for an associates political advertising. The city of Stonecrest could hold a special election as early as March to decide Larys replacement. Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. Jason Lary stole more than $650,000 in COVID-19 relief funds meant to help the. In September 2020, Jason Lary, the former Mayor of Stonecrest, allocated $5 million of the relief funds to a Small Business Program which would disburse relief funds based on applications submitted by local businesses. Former Stonecrest mayor sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison for stealing COVID-19 relief funds. The U.S. Attorney's Office alleges Mayor Jason Lary misused $6.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $119,607.69. FORMER MAYOR ADMITS ROLE IN COVID RELIEF FRAUD SCHEME. For example, Lary presented a check for $150,000 in relief funds to Church 1, on the condition that $50,000 be given to a company called Real Estate Management Consultants, LLC (REMC). Lary did not tell Church 1 at this time that he actually controlled REMC. 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. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives. Stonecrest received $6.2 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds, and the two are accused of taking some of the funds for themselves. Lary, 60, pleaded. The FBI and prosecutors found that $108,000 of relief funds were used to pay off the mortgage on a lakefront home owned by Lary, while another $7,600 was used to pay college tuition and rent for Boones son. Lary resigned a day before he pleaded guilty to concocting a fraud scheme to steal more than $650,000 in federal pandemic relief funds. 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, 60, pleaded guilty in January to wire fraud, federal program theft and conspiracy to commit federal program theft. Lock That money was supposed to go to people like us. Small businesses that applied for financial relief were asked on an application form if theyd be willing to give 25% of the grant to one of three companies to market their business. Hardworking people like us, Will Morrell said. For further information please contact the U.S. Attorneys Public Affairs Office at [email protected] or (404) 581-6016. Credit: Photo courtesy of Boston College Athletics, Former Stonecrest mayors accomplice pleads guilty to felony, Stonecrest councilwoman among candidates running to replace disgraced mayor, Jahmyr Gibbs: Georgia Tech helped make me who I am today, Georgia Tech closes regular season with win over Boston College. Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. This story is breaking. Lary continued with the meeting after an IT tech fixed the problem. Earlier this year, Lary pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud, conspiracy and federal program theft for his role in stealing more than $650,000. Lary announced his resignation to the city on a Zoom call Tuesday.. This sentencing holds Lary accountable for abusing his position of trust and blatant disrespect for the law.. Lary announced his resignation during a Zoom meeting on Tuesday. The city will hold a special election to select a new mayor. By using this website, you accept the terms of our Visitor Agreement and Privacy Policy, and understand your options regarding Ad Choices. 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. The FBI will continue to work with our local, state, and federal partners to ensure stolen relief funds are returned to the public, and individuals involved in this type of fraud are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.. This station is part of Cox Media Group Television. Stonecrest did not disburse the $6 million allocated to the Stonecrest Cares Program and Small Business Program. I let us down, he told the court, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. DEKALB COUNTY, GA The former mayor of Stonecrest pleaded guilty to wire fraud, theft of government funds and conspiracy, reported WAGA-TV. Instead of being a trustworthy steward of CARES Act funding, Clarence Boone and his co-conspirators schemed to misappropriate those funds to enrich themselves at the expense of those less fortunate. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. 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. 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. Candidates must pay a $600 qualifying fee. The image comes from the ancient quarries where highly-trained stonemasons carefully chose the stones used in construction. Sandra D. Smith has been arraigned on federal charges of wire fraud and theft of government funds. Lary did not tell the businesses that he controlled these entities. The former mayor of Stonecrest and a bookkeeper who administered COVID-19 relief funds to the town pleaded guilty in federal court this month to charges related to the theft of pandemic relief funds. Last year the Northern District of Georgia US Attorney's office prosecuted at least 100 people involved in a total of $26 million in CARES Act fraud. A bookkeeper and spouse of a former Stonecrest official accepted a plea deal in federal court Friday afternoon for participating in the same fraud scheme that brought down the city's founding mayor. 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. "You don't recognize Mayor Pro Tem and council and just leave me standing there like I'm not in the meeting. Former Stonecrest mayor pleads guilty to federal fraud charges, Former Stonecrest mayor resigns and plead guilty to federal fraud charges, Stonecrest mayor appeared in federal court about misusing CARES fund. Lary previously pleaded not guilty to the charges, but his attorney, Dwight Thomas, indicated on Nov. 10 that he would take a plea deal. 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. Second, Lary told churches that received relief funds from the Stonecrest Cares Program that they were required to contribute a portion of those funds for purposes identified by Lary. Lary did not disclose he controlled these companies. 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. Lary also made the defendants wife, Lania Boone, the bookkeeper charged with distributing relief funds. This article originally appeared on the Decatur-Avondale Estates Patch, Reports: 3 children dead, 2 wounded in attack at Texas home, Kellyanne Conway, George Conway To Divorce After Decadeslong Marriage: Report, School punished teen girl for working out in sports bra in 100-degree Texas heat, ACLU says, U.S. court won't require FAA to make airplane seat size, spacing rules, 'Extremely dangerous': Spike in illegal crossings at Canada-Vermont border has feds sounding alarm, SoCal in for cool start to weekend, butlight showers make brief return. 2023 Cox Media Group. Jason Lary, 60, of Stonecrest, Georgia, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The discussion comes after the censure of Stonecrest's mayor for comments he made during a meeting. On October 28, 2020, for example, Clarence Boone and Lary circumvented the application process and directed more than $50,000 to a business that they knew was not conducting any legitimate operations, and Lania Boone ultimately wrote the check to disburse the funds. He then asked the church to give $50,000 back to one of the companies included in the scheme. It is extremely disheartening when an elected official, someone sworn to protect the community they serve, violates that oath by stealing relief funds intended to aid their community, said Keri Farley, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta. Then, Lary caused the city to enter a contract with MPRC to disburse the relief funds as directed by Stonecrest. STONECREST, Ga. Former Stonecrest mayor Jason Lary has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges just hours after resigning Wednesday. He then asked the church to give $50,000 back to one of the companies included in the scheme. Former Los Angeles City Councilmember Jose Huizar pleaded guilty Friday to charges of racketeering and tax evasion, admitting that he extorted at least $1.5 million in bribes from real estate . Richard B. Russell Federal Building Lary faces up to 35 years in prison on all three counts. All rights reserved. 2021 5 Feb. "The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone" ( Psalm 118:22 ). The resolution also adopted a funding plan for most of Stonecrests relief funds.

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