Rumors of financial wrongdoing and questionable contracts swirled around Lary, the now 60-year-old former mayor of the city of DeKalb, for weeks in the spring of 2021. A state senator called for his impeachment. An internal investigation commissioned by his City Council colleagues raised even more questions.
In mid-April, Lary announced that he was taking medical leave.
And in November, the US Department of Justice, the FBI and the IRS dropped their collective gavel.
An artist’s sketch of former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary (right) and attorney Dwight Thomas during Lary’s sentencing hearing Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
Credit: LUCY LUCKOVICH
Credit: LUCY LUCKOVICH
An artist’s sketch of former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary (right) and attorney Dwight Thomas during Lary’s sentencing hearing Wednesday, July 13, 2022, in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
Credit: LUCY LUCKOVICH
Credit: LUCY LUCKOVICH
Lary was charged with wire fraud, conspiracy and theft of federal programs, accused of orchestrating an elaborate scheme to pocket portions of Stonecrest’s $6.2 million in federal CARES Act funds, money intended to help the public resist the pandemic
The mayor initially denied the allegations but had announced his resignation on January 4 this year. And a day later, he pleaded guilty to everything: creating shell companies and using personal connections to funnel more than $924,000 in relief funds meant for small businesses and churches. He told these people that a portion of the funds they received should be given to an entity he created, which would help them market their businesses.
He enlisted Lania Boone, the wife of a former city official, to keep the books in exchange for a cut. She will be sentenced next month on a single count of conspiracy.
With the money, Lary paid off his own lake house near Macon and covered outstanding tax debts. He paid for the roof and car repairs. He tried to steal $100,000 directly from the Stonecrest Housing Authority.
All of these actions sent his community, a city he helped birth just a few years earlier, into chaos.
Dressed in a black suit, leaning on a cane with walking boots on both feet in court Wednesday, Lary apologized to his family, friends and Stonecrest residents.
“I’ve let us down,” he said.
After the hearing, Lary hugged emotional supporters, including his tearful wife. He declined to speak to a reporter.
About a half-dozen people also spoke on Lary’s behalf Wednesday, including siblings, friends and his pastor (who heads Union Missionary Baptist Church, which despite being in the city of Lithonia received a City of Stonecrest COVID Grant).
“This is not the Jason I know,” said brother Julius Lary.
July 13, 2022 Atlanta – Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary (right) arrives at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building for his sentencing hearing in a federal fraud case related to the misuse of relief funds City’s COVID on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
July 13, 2022 Atlanta – Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary (right) arrives at the Richard B. Russell Federal Building for his sentencing hearing in a federal fraud case related to the misuse of relief funds City COVID on Wednesday, July 13, 2022. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Credit: HYOSUB SHIN / AJC
Lary and attorney Dwight Thomas had asked Judge Thrash to consider a lenient sentence with no jail time, citing his health and prior community service. Thomas wrote in a recent court filing that the former mayor had already been “humiliated, humiliated, isolated and treated like a leper.”
Thomas also stressed that much of the ill-gotten money had already been returned and Lary had cooperated with the investigation. But Thrash noted that federal authorities recovered most of the money themselves, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Trevor Wilmot characterized Lary as “not forthcoming” in his conversations with investigators.
Wilmot said the residents of Stonecrest had deserved an honest and trustworthy mayor.
“What they got, unfortunately, was a thief,” he said.
Stonecrest resident and longtime Lary critic Faye Coffield said the former mayor’s sentence was not enough.
“I don’t care what he says about cancer. He had cancer when he made this mess,” Coffield said. “We don’t know how many small businesses that could have used that money had to go out of business because they couldn’t.”
Restitution will be paid for by the city of Stonecrest, officials said. City officials, who would be in charge of distributing it, declined to comment on the ruling.
OUR REPORT
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported on possible inconsistencies in Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary’s guidance on the city’s COVID-19 relief spending through early 2021. The paper was the first to report about the internal investigation that raised concerns about the misuse of aid funds. residents and businesses at a time of great need, and has doggedly continued to pursue the case in the months since.
A Timeline of the Stonecrest CARES Expense Scandal
July 2020: DeKalb County allocates some of the CARES Act COVID-19 relief funds it received from the federal government to local cities. Stonecrest receives $6.2 million.
April 1, 2021: Gov. Brian Kemp signs state Senate Bill 21, a law that amends Stonecrest’s city charter and largely removes Mayor Jason Lary’s power. Stonecrest City Council members had supported the bill, which came amid rumors of murky contracts and other financial issues surrounding Lary.
April 12, 2021: Stonecrest City Council votes to release the findings of an internal investigation that found the city’s program for CARES Act relief funds was “plagued by mismanagement” and had the “overwhelming” appearance of a bribery scheme. Jason Lary, the city’s founding mayor, is named in parts of the report.
April 15, 2021: In a press conference, Lary denies any wrongdoing, but announces he is taking medical leave to receive cancer treatment.
April 20, 2021: Stonecrest City Council authorizes City Attorney Winston Denmark to take further steps in the CARES Act investigation, including requesting law enforcement involvement.
November 10, 2021: A criminal information filed in US District Court in Atlanta charges Lary with wire fraud, conspiracy and theft of federal programs. Lania Boone, an accountant for the shell company he allegedly used to embezzle funds and the wife of a former city official, is also charged with one count of conspiracy. Both plead not guilty.
Jan. April 4, 2022: Lary announces his resignation as mayor of Stonecrest.
January 5, 2022: Lary reverses course and pleads guilty, agreeing to cooperate with federal investigators in exchange for the possibility of a lighter sentence. His sentencing was originally scheduled for May, but was later postponed to July.
February 11, 2022: Lania Boone enters her own guilty plea. She is scheduled to be sentenced in August.
July 13, 2022: Lary is sentenced to 57 months in prison. Will report before December 15 due to ongoing medical treatment.
