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Area councilwoman to plead guilty

West Carrollton official accused of food stamp fraud.

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By Cornelius Frolik, Staff Writer 10:24 PM Friday, December 16, 2011

A West Carrollton councilwoman who resigned in February after authorities revealed they were investigating her for allegedly trafficking in food stamps and contraband products will plead guilty next month to three federal crimes, according to her attorney.

Jody L. Jones, 52, who was serving her second term on City Council when she stepped down, faces felony charges of trafficking in counterfeit goods and services; structuring transactions designed to evade reporting requirements; and illegally acquiring, possessing and using food stamp benefits.

Jones plans to plead guilty to the charges on Jan. 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, said her attorney, Don Little. It was a negotiated plea agreement. “She is trying to put this behind her,” Little said. “She has been very cooperative (with authorities), she’s a nice lady and she never had any past legal problems — she just made a mistake and she is trying to set it straight.”

Jana Schiebrel, another suspect in the case, has already been sentenced to one year in prison. The primary target of the investigation, Edward Claude Jones, has not been charged.

In February, local and state law enforcement agents raided two homes and the two businesses owned by Ed and Jody Jones, in search of financial documents and other evidence of wrongdoing.

Aside from serving on City Council, Jody Jones also owned and operated Inn Between Carryout in Moraine, authorities said.

Her ex-husband, Ed Jones, owned and operated Arrow Battery, and although the pair divorced in 2004, they remained business partners and both worked at the carryout, according to court documents.

The raids were the result of a 13-month undercover police operation conducted by members of the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission Task Force. It was initiated after an informant told agents that Ed Jones bought stolen property and acted as a loan shark.

Beginning in December 2009, undercover agents used a confidential informant to gain access to Ed Jones and develop an illegal business relationship, according to a federal affidavit in support of a search warrant.

Up until February 2011, the undercover agent and the informant sold Ed Jones contraband products, counterfeit merchandise, stolen goods and electronic food stamp cards, according to the affidavit. Ed Jones then allegedly sold the goods — which included hundreds of fake Nike and Air Jordan shoes, Louis Vuitton photo wallets and Coach purses — at his ex-wife’s store.

Jody Jones purchased and sold untaxed cigarettes and tobacco products to agents, and she also sold counterfeit merchandise, authorities said.

She also trafficked electronic food stamp cards, which she bought from undercover agents for 50 cents on the dollar and used to purchase goods and groceries from other businesses to stock the shelves of Inn Between, the affidavit states.

Additionally, Jana Schiebrel, Ed Jones’ girlfriend, sold undercover agents a few dozen pills of OxyContin, a powerful and highly addictive painkiller, according to the affidavit. She was sentenced in September to one year in prison on drug charges and for misusing food stamp benefits.

Jody Jones first was elected to West Carrollton City Council in 2003 and ran unopposed for reelection four years later. Ed Jones ran for City Council in 2009, but he did not win. His opponents brought up his criminal past during the campaign and vowed to block him from taking office if he won the election.

His criminal record resulted from Moraine police officers investigating a theft complaint at Dollar General on Springboro Pike. The store’s owner noticed a large quantity of the store’s merchandise was on sale at Jody Jones’ nearby business, Jody’s A Little Bit of Everything.

The investigation determined that a Dollar General employee allowed Ed Jones to enter the business, fill up containers with merchandise and leave without paying for them. Police said Ed Jones took the merchandise to his ex-wife’s store, where it was re-tagged and sold.

A grand jury approved a felony charge of receiving stolen property against Ed Jones, but no charges were filed against Jody Jones.

He pleaded no contest to receiving stolen property and was placed on five years probation.

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