CLEVELAND – A Cleveland woman has been sentenced for her role in a brazen scheme to siphon funds from local nonprofits, aided by her then-boyfriend, a disgraced public official. Sinera Unique Jones, aka Sinera McCoy, 46, will serve three years of probation, including two months of home detention, after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud.
U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko handed down the sentence after Jones admitted to working in concert with former Cleveland city councilman for Ward 7, Basheer Jones, 40, to bilk multiple community stakeholders. Jones was also ordered to pay $143,598.47 in restitution for the damage caused by the duo’s greed.
Court documents reveal that between December 2018 and June 2021, Jones and Basheer Jones systematically targeted nonprofits, promising redevelopment projects for Ward 7 in exchange for funding. The money, however, never reached its intended destination. Instead, it flowed into bank accounts controlled by Sinera Jones, who then, at Basheer Jones’s direction, diverted the funds to themselves and their associates.
The pair went to elaborate lengths to conceal their relationship and their fraudulent activities. One particularly galling scheme saw Sinera Jones hired as a “consultant” by a nonprofit, recommended by Basheer Jones. She submitted invoices for work she didn’t perform, pocketing the money through her consulting business while keeping her romantic connection to the councilman secret. Another involved a property deal: Basheer Jones secured a distressed property for Sinera Jones for a mere $1, with the understanding she’d cover a $40,500 demolition bill. She immediately flipped the property to the nonprofit for $45,000, failing to pay the demolition costs or disclose her relationship with Basheer Jones.
The total haul from these schemes exceeded $140,000. Basheer Jones was previously sentenced on April 1, 2025, to 28 months in prison after also pleading guilty to the same charges. He also faces three years of supervised release and is responsible for the $143,598.47 restitution. This case highlights the corrosive effect of public corruption and the willingness of some officials to exploit the very organizations meant to serve their communities.
The investigation was a joint effort by the FBI Cleveland Division, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS – Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica Barnhill and Elliot Morrison of the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case. Anyone suspecting fraud is encouraged to report it to justice.gov/action-center/report-crime-or-submit-complaint.
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Key Facts
- State: Ohio
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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