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Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ex-state employee gets prison time for defrauding Mass. housing agency after being fired from job
A former state employee will serve time in federal prison for defrauding a Massachusetts housing agency after being fired from her job, and defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration in connection with the pandemic Paycheck Protection Program. Alihea Jones, 51, of Brandon, Fla., was sentenced in federal court to 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement on Monday. Jones was also ordered to pay $222,074 in restitution and to forfeit $222,074. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris handed down Jones' sentence. In September 2024, Jones pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud. In 2022, Jones worked remotely for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development for six months, Foley said. She worked with the agency's Residential Aid to Families in Transition program, which provides funds to assist low-income Massachusetts residents facing eviction and other housing emergencies. Prosecutors said after Jones was fired from the agency, she was still logged into the RAFT database and accessed the files of four RAFT program participants. She authorized electronic payments to their landlords in the amounts of $7,500, $8,800, $6,925 and $10,000. Jones changed the routing and bank account numbers from the landlords' accounts to four unauthorized accounts in Georgia: an account in the name of Jones's business, Beauty Concepts by Alihea LLC; Jones's personal account; and the accounts of two of her friends. Jones did this 'all without knowledge or permission' from the state agency, prosecutors said. After the transfers went through, her two friends each paid Jones a $2,000 kickback, prosecutors said. Earlier, in 2021, Jones also fraudulently obtained a $187,000 PPP loan from a Massachusetts lender, which the SBA later forgave, prosecutors said. Jones spent most of the money on personal expenses, including clothing and restaurants. Under the PPP, authorized lenders issued SBA-guaranteed loans to small businesses during the COVID pandemic to help keep workers employed. If a business spent the money on payroll and other permissible business expenses, the SBA forgave the loan. Jones submitted a PPP loan application to a Massachusetts lender falsely stating that Beauty Concepts had 17 employees and an average monthly payroll expense of $74,800, prosecutors said. In fact, Beauty Concepts did not employ anyone. Unaware that Jones's information was false, the SBA agreed to guarantee a $187,000 loan to Beauty Concepts, prosecutors said. The lender transmitted the loan proceeds to the Beauty Concepts account in Georgia. Jones later applied to have her loan forgiven. 'Again, she included false employee count and payroll information,' the U.S. Attorney said in her statement. 'Unaware that Jones's representations were false, the SBA forgave the loan principal and accrued interest.' In total, Jones caused a loss of $222,074, with $33,225 payable to the Department of Housing and Community Development and $188,849 payable to the SBA, Foley said. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Boston Globe
04-03-2025
- Boston Globe
Florida woman gets federal prison for stealing $220k from Mass. housing agency, pandemic relief
For six months in 2022, Jones worked remotely for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development, assisting low-income residents with eviction and housing emergencies, according to the statement. After leaving the position, she remained logged into the agency's database, retaining access to program files and the authority to approve landlord payments, the statement said. Advertisement She then diverted four relief payments—amounting to $7,500, $8,800, $6,925, and $10,000—by altering account details, sending the funds to her personal account, her business (Beauty Concepts by Alihea, LLC), and two friends, each of whom kicked back $2,000, the statement said. Altogether, she stole $33,225 from the agency, according to the statement. In a separate scheme in 2021, Jones fraudulently obtained pandemic aid intended to small businesses retain staff by submitting false employment records for Beauty Concepts, the statement said. She claimed to have 17 employees with a $74,800 monthly payroll—despite having none—in order to secure a $187,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan, according to the statement. The U.S. Small Business Administration later forgave the loan and its accrued interest, bringing the loss to $188,849, the statement said. In total, Jones was responsible for $222,074 in fraud. She pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud in September 2024, according to the statement. Rita Chandler can be reached at
