Ex-Stonecrest mayor accused of lying about prison time to run for City Council
Stonecrest residents likely assumed they had seen the last of Jason Lary.
The former mayor spent more than two years in prison after he admitted to pocketing hundreds of thousands of dollars of federal COVID-19 relief funds from the city he helped create.
But in August, his name resurfaced after he registered to vote and then decided to run for Stonecrest City Council District 5.
The problem? According to DeKalb County prosecutors, Lary signed paperwork “affirming that he was not a convicted felon.”
It was a daring move, they said, just six months after his release from federal prison in Alabama.
“That (case) was covered extensively by the media, and it’s no secret to anyone in the DeKalb County community to once being released from federal prison, the first thing they decide to do is to run for office. It’s very bold,” District Attorney Sherry Boston said during a news conference Thursday inside the county courthouse.
Two days earlier, Lary had been indicted by a DeKalb grand jury on charges of false registration, unlawful disclosure of voter registration information, making false statements in connection with filing notice of candidacy or qualifying as a candidate, and two counts of making false statements.
On Thursday, Lary turned himself in to the DeKalb jail, his attorney, Dwight Thomas, confirmed to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was released the same day on a $5,000 bond.
“I believe at this point in time that the evidence will show that whatever happened, whatever was signed, everything that was done, was done with no criminal intent,” Thomas said.
The last time most metro Atlanta residents saw Lary was when he was being led away in handcuffs in 2022.
COVID funds were supposed to be for those struggling during the pandemic, but the mayor used shell companies and other deceptions to pocket the money, which he then used to pay off his own tax debts and the mortgage on his Macon-area lake house. After pleading guilty to wire fraud, theft and conspiracy charges, he was sentenced to 57 months in prison.
While awaiting prison, Lary apologized and asked for forgiveness during an interview with WAOK-AM in January 2023. He also stated he stole from the government, not residents.
“I apologize, please forgive me, give me a second chance at life. I have the opportunity to still live above ground,” Lary said. “And don’t be hard on my family.”
But after being released from prison in February and still on probation, prosecutors said the 63-year-old registered to vote Aug. 14 for Tuesday’s election. Four days later, he filed the paperwork to run for City Council, the DA’s office said.
His candidacy was challenged by “two citizens,” leading the county board of registration and elections to take up the issue during a regular meeting Sept. 10, the DA’s office said. The board unanimously voted to disqualify Lary as a candidate and remove him from the voter rolls, according to prosecutors.
According to the DA’s office spokesperson Lisa Myers, Lary “was not eligible to register to vote because he is still under supervision and has not completed his sentence. He would not be eligible to run for elected office until 10 years after completing his sentence.”
The election board’s decision prompted the investigation by the DA’s office, which secured the indictment from a grand jury.
“We expect our elected officials and people who are placing themselves up to be candidates, to not only follow the rules, but to swear to tell the truth. In this case, Mr. Lary did not do those things,” Boston said. “It’s a violation of a criminal law that you will be held accountable.”
