OXFORD, Miss. – LaSonja Jones, 42, of Southaven, Mississippi, is paying the price for a brazen act of pandemic profiteering. The former U.S. Postal Inspection Service employee was ordered Tuesday to pay $80,433 in restitution after admitting she fraudulently obtained COVID-19 Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans.
Court records detail how Jones leveraged her position to submit false applications for two businesses she owned, falsely claiming eligibility for federal funds from the Small Business Administration. While employed by the very agency tasked with investigating such crimes, Jones allegedly dipped her hand into the lifeline intended for struggling businesses during the height of the pandemic. The scheme was ultimately uncovered and Jones previously pled guilty to the charges.
U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock handed down the sentence: time served in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and the hefty restitution order. While Jones avoided further jail time, the financial penalty serves as a stark reminder that exploiting emergency relief programs will not go unpunished.
“The federal government made billions of dollars available to businesses that needed help to stay afloat during the pandemic, and people like this defendant stole that money,” fumed U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “To add insult to injury, the defendant worked for the government at the same time that she was actively stealing from the government, and I appreciate the efforts of the Postal Service to bring her to justice.”
Michael Ray, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, echoed Joyner’s sentiment. “This case is an example of our unwillingness to tolerate payroll protection fraud, especially by individuals who are placed in positions of authority to protect and investigate this very fraud,” Ray stated. He specifically acknowledged the work of Special Agent Jonathan Sawant and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Roberts in securing the conviction.
The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General’s Office of Professional Responsibility. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Roberts prosecuted the case, bringing a measure of accountability to a calculated betrayal of trust and a blatant theft from a nation in crisis. Jones’s actions serve as a warning: even those sworn to uphold the law are not above it.
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Key Facts
- State: Mississippi
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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