STONECREST, Ga. — Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary and his former bookkeeper have pleaded guilty to charges related to allegedly stealing COVID relief funds awarded to Stonecrest during the pandemic, officials said.
Lary is scheduled to be sentenced on Monday, May 2 at 10 a.m. His former bookkeeper Lania Boone also pleaded guilty to conspiring with him. She will be sentenced on Thursday, May 12 at 2 p.m.
“Lary’s guilty plea was the first in righting the wrongs committed against the people of Stonecrest, who were wrongfully deprived of hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to provide COVID-19 relief," U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said.
Lary announced in January that he would step down from his position to focus on his health. A day later, he plead guilty to wire fraud, federal program theft and conspiracy to commit federal program theft.
Instead of using the money to help the people of Stonecrest with funds from the CARES Act, federal investigators alleged Lary used Boone's access to wire approximately $108,000 of relief funds to pay off the mortgage on his lake house. Investigators said around the same time, Lary directed approximately $7,600 in to pay for Boone's son's college tuition and rent.
"CARES Act funds were intended to help people and businesses harmed by the pandemic, not to line the pockets of public officials entrusted to lead a community," FBI Atlanta Acting Special Agent Philip Wisler said. "The FBI will do everything in our power to make sure stolen funds are returned to the public, and individuals involved in this type of criminal behavior are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
According to Erskine, the federal government distributed $125 million in COVID relief funds as part of the CARES Act to DeKalb County. In July 2020, the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners voted to disburse the funds, including a $6.2 million grant to Stonecrest.
In September of that same year, Lary, the then-Stonecrest mayor, signed a resolution acknowledging the requirements of the CARES Act funds and adopted a plan for the money. The funds were meant to be disbursed to Stonecrest's churches, non-profit organizations and small businesses. Before he signed the resolution, officials said Lary worked to form the Municipal Resource Partners Corporation (MRPC), recruit its CEO, open its bank accounts, and ensure Boone would be hired as MRPC's bookkeeper.
From November 2020 until around February 2021, a release from the Department of Justice stated, Boone signed dozens of checks on behalf of MRPC directing millions of dollars to individuals, businesses, churches, and non-profit organizations. Lary allegedly helped decide where the relief funds were directed.
"Abusing the authority conferred on him as mayor, Lary devised and executed a scheme to steal relief funds after they were distributed by MRPC," the release stated. "Lary told churches that received relief funds under the Stonecrest Cares Program that they were required to contribute a portion of those funds for purposes identified by Lary."
Additionally, Lary allegedly solicited relief funds from businesses that received grants under the Small Business Program.
"Lary falsely claimed that the money would be each business’s “contribution” to Stonecrest-related marketing and advertising. But Lary and others asked that these “contributions” be given not to Stonecrest, but to entities called Visit Us, Inc. and Battleground Media, LLC. Lary did not tell the businesses that he controlled these entities," according to the DOJ's release.
In total, businesses were defrauded out of hundreds of thousands of dollars of relief funds. Lary also used relief funds held by Visit Us to pay for an associate's political advertising, according to officials.
The case is still being investigated by the FBI.