A former senior executive of the Atlanta Housing, Tracy Jones, is expected to enter a guilty plea on charges of defrauding government funds, including those from Section 8 and COVID-19 relief programs, according to federal prosecutors. With an arraignment that took place last week, Jones faces allegations of conspiracy to commit theft of government funds, wire fraud, and credit application fraud, per FOX 5 Atlanta.
Serving as the Housing Choice Voucher Program's senior vice president since 2017, Jones was responsible for one of the largest Section 8 programs in the nation, when she was hit by the charges. U.S. Attorney Theodore Hertzberg, detailing the charges against her, said, "She used a shell business entity, she used a false affidavit." Adding to the mix of deceit, "She convinced friends to lie and present false documents on her behalf. She used a fake name," as reported by FOX 5 Atlanta.
The investigation into Jones' activities highlighted a misuse of her position, exploiting a shell business entity and an alternate identity to funnel over $60,000 from Section 8 and pandemic relief efforts into her own pockets. While her attorney Samuel Joseph declined to comment on the case, Atlanta Housing has taken measures to address the vacancy left by Jones, appointing Shannon Linsey to the role as an immediate step, according to their statement.
The deceit does not keep to one avenue, as Jones has also been accused of lying on credit applications and claiming more than $27,000 in U.S. Small Business Administration COVID-19 pandemic relief programs for a business that was reportedly inoperable. "Jones claimed her business was functioning and was carrying a staff, and that the company made $56,000 in gross revenue in 2019," according to USA Today. When one application was refused, Jones appealed, stating she was "truly a[n] honestly business owner," and contrasted her behavior with those who "abused the PPP loans to establish a lavish lifestyle," professing "that is not me."
Jones' case falls under the scrutiny of the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force established in 2021, with her accused actions reflecting a betrayal of trust to the community's neediest. As expressed in a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office, "A long-time senior executive of one of the largest housing authorities in the nation, Jones was entrusted to deliver vast sums of government assistance to our community's neediest members," U.S. attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg was quoted in USA Today.
