A former director of a Detroit nonprofit and an ex-Wayne County employee accused of conspiring to steal properties from local residents facing potential tax foreclosure have been sentenced, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan said.
A judge on Wednesday sentenced Zina Thomas, 62, to seven years and six months in prison and Jontae Jackson, 45, to five years and five months in prison in connection with the scheme, according to federal officials.
Online court records show Thomas, a former director of homeownership programs at United Community Housing Coalition, pleaded guilty on Nov. 4, 2025, to one count of federal program bribery. Jackson, an ex-taxpayer assistant with the Wayne County Treasurer’s Office, pleaded guilty to one count each of convictions for conspiracy to commit bribery and aggravated identity theft on the same date…