Famicos Foundation, a nonprofit community development corporation that works in Cleveland's Hough and Glenville neighborhoods, has received a subpoena seeking documents related to its work in Ward 7, the organization's leader said Friday.
John Anoliefo, the executive director of Famicos, told Ideastream Public Media that he received the subpoena Friday morning and planned to comply.
The news comes the same day that Cleveland's law department released a copy of a subpoena it received in May that named entities connected to former Ward 7 councilman and mayoral candidate Basheer Jones. News outlets had reported on the document yesterday. The law department received the subpoena May 5.
The subpoena asked the city to verify with the FBI whether it had made any payments to a list of people and companies that included the Basheer Jones Foundation and Basheer Jones Unlimited LLC.
Jones formed the foundation in 2009 and the limited liability company in 2010, state business records show, years before he would run for city council.
Jones declined to comment when reached by text message. The U.S. Attorney's Office has not announced any charges in the investigation.
The subpoena also sought city documents mentioning Famicos Foundation and Lexington-Bell Community Center, including records of federal community development block grant payments. Both nonprofits work in Ward 7, which covers the Hough and St. Clair-Superior neighborhoods that Jones represented on Cleveland City Council.
When he served on council, Jones directed hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lexington-Bell from his Ward 7 allocation of casino revenue dollars and other funds, council records show.
That includes a $225,000 contract in 2019 with Lexington-Bell to buy and renovate the Superior Beverage building at 6203 Superior Avenue. In 2020, Jones introduced legislation to reduce that payment to $200,000.
By then, the building was in the possession of King Management Group and Associates LLC, property records show. The subpoena also sought city records mentioning a “King Management.”
Also in 2020, Jones’ mayoral campaign paid $3,200 to King Management Group and Associates LLC for “marketing/branding services,” financial disclosures show.
Jones also introduced several pieces of legislation awarding money to Lexington-Bell for code enforcement and safety programs. His colleagues on council voted to approve the payments and building rehabilitation contract. It is unclear whether these contracts, or Jones' campaign expenditures, are of interest to investigators.
The director of Lexington-Bell did not respond to a message and email seeking comment Friday. The beverage building sold in 2021 to a company not named in the subpoena.
Also listed in the subpoena are a collection of similarly-named entities: Imani Wellness, Imani Mission, Imani’s Faith and Imani Early Learning Academy. Jones appeared in a 2021 video soliciting donations to develop the Imani Wellness Center in Hough in honor of his late mother, who died of breast cancer.
Jones defeated an incumbent to win a seat on city council in 2017. He ran for mayor in 2021 rather than seek another term on council, finishing in fifth place in a competitive seven-candidate race.
After leaving office, Jones reemerged in the public eye last week to endorse Lee Weingart, the Republican candidate for Cuyahoga County executive.
