A Florida woman has been sentenced to 10 months in prison for defrauding a Massachusetts housing agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Alihea Jones, 51, from Brandon, Florida, received her sentence from U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris in Boston.
Jones was ordered to serve three years of supervised release following her prison term and must pay $222,074 in restitution. She is also required to forfeit an equivalent amount. In September 2024, Jones pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud.
In 2022, while working remotely for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), Jones accessed files from the Residential Aid to Families in Transition (RAFT) program after her termination. She authorized payments intended for landlords but redirected them to unauthorized accounts linked to herself and associates.
Earlier, in 2021, Jones obtained a $187,000 PPP loan under false pretenses by claiming that her business employed 17 people with significant payroll expenses. The SBA forgave this loan based on these misrepresentations.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley stated that Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers prosecuted the case with support from Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro and Ketty Larco-Ward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division.