Nashville man pleads guilty in pandemic rental scheme

Nashville resident Joe Lewis Jefferson, 49, faces up to 31 years in federal prison after pleading guilty on Monday for his role in a nominee landlord scheme that defrauded struggling North Carolinians during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His wife, Danyael Davis Jefferson, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud on March 27, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

According to information presented in court, Jefferson recruited associates to pose as landlords for properties in eastern North Carolina, preparing rental assistance applications on their behalf and filing those documents with the North Carolina Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions program known as N.C. HOPE — an online initiative developed to assist those facing eviction and homelessness during the pandemic for up to 15 months.

Upon approval, N.C. HOPE mailed proceeds to addresses managed by Jefferson. Prosecutors say he then split the funds with his nominees — a ruse totaling 44 applications and roughly $279,000.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert T. Numbers II accepted Jefferson’s plea. U.S. District Judge James C. Dever II will hand down his sentence in a hearing scheduled later this year.

IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated Jefferson’s alleged abuse of the eviction prevention program. Assistant U.S. Attorney Toby Lathan is overseeing his prosecution.

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