Jason Lary, the former mayor of Stonecrest, has been disqualified from running for the city's District 5 council seat following his federal prison sentence for embezzling COVID-19 relief funds. His hopes of a political return were dashed by his conviction, with Lary having admitted to directing nearly $1 million of pandemic aid into companies he controlled, as reported by FOX5 Atlanta.
During his tenure as mayor, Lary played a pivotal role in the distribution of $6.2 million in CARES Act funds that resulted in his conviction and subsequent sentence of 57 months; a church, for instance, was allegedly pressured to return a portion of a $150,000 grant to one of Lary's linked companies, he resigned his post prior to sentencing and was released from confinement earlier this year, continuing his term under supervised release, according to details from the Atlanta News First report.
Lary's voter registration was also canceled by the DeKalb County Board of Registration and Elections during their September 10 meeting, with the board requiring evidence that his civil rights have been restored and his sentence completed, despite his representative's claim of restitution payment and completed sentence. Georgia law states that individuals convicted of moral turpitude crimes—which include theft and fraud, with sentences of up to five years—are barred from running for office.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine previously detailed that under the CARES Act federal government distributed $125 million in COVID-19 relief funds to DeKalb County, with Stonecrest receiving a $6.2 million grant which Lary, as mayor at the time, had significant influence over, as he signed a resolution adopting a funding plan for mask distribution, education, and testing, among other purposes as Atlanta News First reported, and further misused the funds to pay for his lake house mortgage and other personal debts.
As matters stand, the District 5 city council race in Stonecrest will proceed without Lary's participation. The three remaining contenders are incumbent Tammy Grimes, Karmesha Washington Smith, and Diana Adoma. Meanwhile, Lary remains during his three-year supervised release period, with the provision that anyone convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude must wait at least ten years from the completion of their sentence and have their civil rights restored to be eligible for office again.
