Former Stonecrest Mayor Sentenced To Prison For Stealing COVID Relief Funds: DA

STONECREST, GA — The former mayor of Stonecrest has been sentenced to prison for stealing
hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds allocated to the city, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.

Jason Lary, 60, of Stonecrest, has been sentenced to four years and nine months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $119,607.69, according to the district attorney. Lary pleaded guilty to wire fraud, federal program theft, and conspiracy on January 5, 2022.

Lary was accused of stealing more than $650,000 in COVID-19 relief funds that he used to pay the mortgage on his lakehouse. He resigned in January.

The City of Stonecrest was required to spend the relief funds on expenses such as medical and public health, and grants for small businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 . . . . and were incurred during the period that [began] on March 1, 2020, and [ended] on December 30, 2020.”

The Stonecrest Cares Program directed relief funds to churches and non-profit organizations in and around Stonecrest. The plan also provided $5 million to the COVID-19 CARES Act Small Business Program (“Small Business Program”).

Stonecrest did not disburse the $6 million allocated to the Stonecrest Cares Program and Small Business Program, according to the district attorney’s office. Instead, Lary worked behind the scenes to form a private company, Municipal Resource Partners Corporation, Inc. (“MRPC”), recruit its CEO, open its bank accounts, and ensure that Lania Boone, his convicted co-conspirator, would be hired as MRPC’s bookkeeper, according to the district attorney's office. Then, Lary caused the city to enter a contract with MPRC to disburse the relief funds as directed by Stonecrest.

Lary used different methods to steal the funds Stonecrest disbursed into his private company account, MRPC, according to officials.

In January 2021, Boone used her access to one of MRPC’s bank accounts to wire transfer $108,000 of relief funds to a mortgage servicing company. Officials said it was used to pay off the mortgage on a Lary’s lakefront home. Lary also directed $7,600 in stolen relief funds to be used for Boone’s son’s college tuition and rent.

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, officials said.
One church received a check for $150,000 in relief funds from Larry on the condition that $50,000 be given to a company called Real Estate Management Consultants, LLC (“REMC”) to go towards home repairs for those who needed assistance. Lary did not tell the church that he actually controlled REMC. Officials said Lary used the money for his own purposes, including to pay off his outstanding federal, state, and local tax liabilities.

Boone, Lary’s co-conspirator, pleaded guilty to conspiracy on February 11, 2022. She is scheduled to be sentenced on August 15, 2022.

“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 in a statement. “The people of Stonecrest deserved better, and corrupt officials can expect severe consequences for using their offices to commit crimes.”