A former state employee has been sentenced to federal prison for committing fraud against a Massachusetts housing agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration. This individual was fired from their job prior to engaging in fraudulent activities related to the pandemic Paycheck Protection Program.
Alihea Jones, a 51-year-old resident of Brandon, Florida, has been sentenced to 10 months in prison by a federal court. Following her prison term, she will be placed under three years of supervised release, according to a statement by U.S. Attorney Leah Foley on Monday. In addition to her sentence, Jones has been ordered to pay $222,074 in restitution and forfeit the same amount.
Jones’ sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris.
Jones admitted to committing five counts of wire fraud in September 2024.
According to Foley, Jones spent six months working remotely for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development in 2022.
She collaborated with the agency’s Residential Aid to Families in Transition program, a program designed to offer financial aid to low-income Massachusetts residents who are at risk of eviction or experiencing other housing emergencies.
After being terminated from the agency, Jones maintained access to the RAFT database and proceeded to retrieve the files of four RAFT program participants. In an unauthorized manner, she approved electronic payments to their respective landlords, totaling $7,500, $8,800, $6,925, and $10,000.
Jones took it upon herself to alter the routing and bank account numbers of the landlords’ accounts without their knowledge or consent. She transferred the funds to four unauthorized accounts in Georgia, including her own personal account, an account under her business name, Beauty Concepts by Alihea LLC, and the accounts of two of her friends. These actions were carried out without any authorization from the state agency, as stated by the prosecutors.
After the transfers were completed, Jones received a $2,000 kickback from each of her two friends, according to prosecutors.
In 2021, Jones was found to have fraudulently acquired a $187,000 PPP loan from a Massachusetts lender. The Small Business Administration (SBA) eventually forgave the loan, but not before discovering that Jones had primarily used the funds for personal expenses, such as clothing and dining out.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses were provided assistance through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). This program allowed authorized lenders to issue SBA-guaranteed loans to these businesses with the aim of preserving employment. If the loan funds were utilized for eligible expenses such as payroll and other permissible business costs, the SBA offered loan forgiveness.
Jones deceitfully submitted a PPP loan application to a Massachusetts lender, falsely indicating that Beauty Concepts possessed a staff of 17 employees and an average monthly payroll expense of $74,800. However, the reality was that Beauty Concepts did not employ a single individual.
The SBA, unaware that Jones had provided false information, approved a loan guarantee of $187,000 for Beauty Concepts. The loan amount was then transferred to the company’s account in Georgia. Afterward, Jones submitted an application to have the loan forgiven.
The U.S. Attorney stated that Jones once again provided incorrect details about the number of employees and payroll. As a result, the Small Business Administration (SBA) forgave the loan principal and the interest that had accumulated, as they were unaware of the false information provided by Jones.
According to Foley, Jones was responsible for a total loss of $222,074. Out of this amount, $33,225 is owed to the Department of Housing and Community Development, while $188,849 is owed to the SBA.
This story is currently in development. Please check back for updates as more information becomes available.