Southaven postal employee pleads guilty to applying for COVID-19 PPP loans with false information

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Southaven woman was ordered to pay more than $80,000 in restitution following her conviction for making a false application for and receiving COVID-19 payroll protection loans, according to a press release from the United States Attorney’s Office on Tuesday, June 18.

According to court records, LaSonja Jones, 42, previously pled guilty to applying for Payroll Protection Program (PPP) COVID-19 loans with false information about eligibility of two personal businesses she owned to obtain money from the Small Business Administration. 

Jones was an administrative employee of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at the time she made the false applications, the release said.

At a sentencing hearing on Tuesday, a U.S. District Court judge sentenced Jones to time served in prison with five years of supervised release and ordered her to pay $80,433 in restitution, according to the press release.

“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,” said 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.”

U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General Special Agent in Charge Michael Ray said this case is an example of "unwillingness to tolerate payroll protection fraud, especially by individuals who are placed in positions of authority to protect and investigate this very fraud."