Criminal Cases

Atlanta Businessman Sentenced to Five Years In Federal Prison For Bribing City Official

Atlanta Businessman Sentenced to Five Years In Federal Prison For Bribing City Official

A key defendant has been sentenced in a case we've followed since last fall. At that time, Jo Ann Macrina, a former City of Atlanta Commissioner of Watershed Management, was convicted of accepting bribes following an investigation by the IRS Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI.

Macrina, who resided in Daytona Beach Shores, Florida at the time of her arrest, was employed by the City of Atlanta, Georgia between 2011 and 2016. During that time, Macrina steered city business worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a specific contracting company, who paid her off with bribes.

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Credit: Catherine McQueen/Getty Images

According to an official release from the IRS, Macrina accepted "cash, luxury items [including $10,000 in jewelry], and the promise of a future job" from the contractor, PRAD Group. She specifically provided the firm's owner, Lohrasb "Jeff" Jafari with "access to confidential information and preferential treatment with respect to City of Atlanta projects."

Jafari pleaded guilty in April of this year. In addition to admitting to bribery, Jafari confirmed he evaded over $1.5 million worth of taxes owed. Now, he has been sentenced.

A new IRS notice states that Jafari will serve five years in federal prison for his crimes.

Numerous people involved in the investigation spoke out following the sentencing. U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said, "Jeff Jafari paid bribe after bribe to high-ranking government officials in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County over several years and thereby obtained lucrative city contracts worth tens of millions of dollars."

He continued, "The public paid a heavy price from every project unfairly awarded to Jafari's companies through corruption, and he then compounded his harm by never paying any tax on his substantial personal income. His greed delivered a hard blow to public trust in honest and fair government, but this sentence underscores our commitment to prosecuting corruption in any form."

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Photographer: gorodenkoff/Getty Images

Keri Farley, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta also shared thoughts, "Circumventing the process to hire contractors for the city by accepting bribes to profit personally is one of the highest forms of public corruption."

"As this sentencing shows, the FBI and the City of Atlanta will not tolerate anyone who takes advantage of city funds and abuses their position of trust," Farley concluded. 

It has not been publicly announced where Jafari will serve his time. 

What do you think about this case?

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Feature Image Credit: David Madison/Getty Images

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Rebekah Barton

Rebekah Barton

Rebekah's search engine optimization career began completely by accident as a college student. Over the course of her career so far, she has "grown up" with the SEO industry, from writing content while juggling classes to managing her own teams of writers and overseeing SEO strategy in subsequent roles. She is excited to bring her passion for high-quality content to CountingWorks, Inc.

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