Joshua S. Levy, U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts
A Florida woman, Alihea Jones, was sentenced in a federal court in Boston for defrauding a Massachusetts housing agency and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) related to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Jones, aged 51 from Brandon, Florida, received a 10-month prison sentence followed by three years of supervised release. Additionally, she must pay $222,074 in restitution and forfeit an equal amount.
In September 2024, Jones admitted guilt to five counts of wire fraud. Her fraudulent activities took place while she was employed remotely by the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in 2022. She exploited her access to the Residential Aid to Families in Transition (RAFT) program database after her employment ended. By altering bank account details linked to four RAFT participants' landlords, she redirected funds totaling $33,225 into unauthorized accounts including those belonging to her business and acquaintances.
Jones also secured a PPP loan of $187,000 under false pretenses in 2021 by misrepresenting employee numbers and payroll expenses for her business Beauty Concepts by Alihea LLC. The SBA forgave this loan based on inaccurate information provided by Jones.
The case resulted in financial losses amounting to $222,074 with payments due both to DHCD ($33,225) and SBA ($188,849). United States Attorney Leah B. Foley alongside Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro and Ketty Larco-Ward from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division announced the sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers handled the prosecution.
