CLEVELAND – A Cleveland woman who conspired with an elected public official to defraud local nonprofits has been sentenced.
Sinera Unique Jones, aka Sinera McCoy, 46, has been sentenced to three years of probation with two months of home detention by U.S. District Judge Christopher A. Boyko, after pleading guilty in April to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud by acting in concert with a public official to defraud multiple community stakeholders. Additionally, she was ordered to pay $143,598.47 in restitution.
According to court documents, from about December 2018 to June 2021, Sinera Jones conspired with former Cleveland city councilman for Ward 7, Basheer Jones, 40, with whom she was in a romantic relationship, to persuade local nonprofits to enter into arrangements from which the two could financially benefit. Basheer Jones sought and obtained funds from the nonprofits under the guise of working on projects to redevelop Ward 7.
The scheme involved convincing nonprofits to make payments toward projects they believed were for Ward 7 revitalization projects. But instead, the money went into bank accounts that Sinera Jones controlled which, at Basheer Jones’s direction, she then diverted to herself, to Basheer Jones, and to others.
The two took steps to ensure that their personal connection was not discovered and used various methods to obtain money from the organizations. In one scheme, a nonprofit hired Sinera Jones as a consultant for community outreach on the recommendation of Basheer Jones. She submitted invoices to the nonprofit despite doing little work and was subsequently paid through her consulting business—all while concealing her personal relationship to the councilman.
In another scheme, Basheer Jones represented to a nonprofit that he was assisting with the acquisition of a distressed piece of property from the original owner. At the same time, Basheer Jones arranged for the owner to sell Sinera Jones the property for only $1 with the promise to the seller that she would pay the $40,500 city demolition bill. Sinera Jones, who put the property in the name of a business entity when she made the purchase, immediately re-sold the property to the nonprofit for $45,000 without paying the demolition bill or disclosing it or disclosing her ties to Basheer Jones. In all, Sinera and Basheer Jones were able to defraud various nonprofits out of more than $140,000.
On April 1, 2025, Basheer Jones was sentenced to 28 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release and pay $143,598.47 in restitution.
This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS – Criminal Investigation.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica Barnhill and Elliot Morrison for the Northern District of Ohio.
To report fraud, visit justice.gov/action-center/report-crime-or-submit-complaint.