Atlanta man pleads guilty to fleecing millions from Jackson’s fundraising arm

An Atlanta businessman confessed in court on Tuesday that he falsely billed $2.1 million to the fundraising arm of Miami-Dade County’s public hospital system without providing any services — then kicked back half of his payments from the Jackson Health Foundation to one of its top executives.

Yergan Jones, 63, president of an audiovisual company, pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to conspiring with the Foundation’s former chief operating officer, Charmaine Gatlin, in an elaborate billing scheme involving dozens of falsified invoices for purported fundraising events between 2019 and 2024.

Gatlin, 52, who came to know Jones when they had worked on charitable projects in Atlanta, is expected to plead guilty to conspiracy and fraud-related charges before her federal trial in Miami in October.

In a plea deal, Jones now faces between 2-1/2 and 3 years in prison and has agreed to pay back the $2.1 million that he fraudulently received from the Foundation. He also faces a forfeiture judgment of $1 million, which accounts for half of the payments that he and his company, American Sound Design, kept after being paid by the fundraising entity for supposed events benefitting Jackson Health System. It’s unclear how many of the events actually took place.

During Tuesday’s hearing, Magistrate Judge Edwin Torres asked Jones a series of questions about his billing scheme with Gatlin, including whether he and his audiovisual company made about $1 million off false invoices for services that were not provided to the Foundation.

Jones answered “yes” to each of the judge’s questions.

Before Jackson Health System officials learned of the alleged scheme, Gatlin was making about $300,000 as the Foundation’s chief operating officer and was well on her way to becoming its top executive.

Terminated in November

But in late October, she was put on paid administrative leave while an internal investigation “related to potential misconduct” got underway. In early November, she was “terminated for cause” by the Foundation’s chairman. Her termination letter, obtained by the Miami Herald, did not elaborate.

Jackson officials alerted the FBI and federal prosecutors. In May, Gatlin, a Foundation executive over the past decade, was arrested on charges of fleecing $3.6 million from her former employer, fabricating fake invoices from vendors including Jones and receiving kickbacks from them. Her alleged defrauding of the Jackson Health Foundation, however, extended well beyond Miami, according to an indictment and other court records.

The indictment alleges Jones’ company, American Sound Design, submitted invoices to Gatlin that were for “audiovisual services that did not occur” at Jackson Health System or the Foundation. Instead, those services were provided by his company to a civic organization in Atlanta, the indictment says. The Herald confirmed that the organization is 100 Black Men of America, with chapters nationwide including South Florida. Gatlin had worked there as an executive before she was hired at the Foundation in 2014.

“At times, Charmaine Gatlin instructed [Jones] how to falsify invoices to the Foundation for services ASD did not provide,” according to a factual statement filed with his plea agreement signed by him, defense lawyer Hector Flores and prosecutor Elizabeth Young.

For example, on Jan. 7, 2024, Jones emailed Gatlin’s personal email with a draft invoice for extending audiovisual equipment at the Jackson “Holiday Parties” two “additional days” for a total of $50,172.50, the statement says. The following day, Gatlin responded: “Get [the bill] to $58,477. When you email it over ask for the status of the payment.”

On Jan. 16, Gatlin wired that same amount to the bank account of Jones’ company, ASD, which did not provide the invoiced audiovisual services at Jackson or the Foundation, according to the statement. Two days later, Jones wired a kickback of about $25,000 to Gatlin’s personal bank account — then, Jones made a $20,000 payment on his American Express card using the Jackson funds.

In other instances, “to conceal the kickbacks, Charmaine Gatlin sent [Jones] false invoices making it appear as though she was consulting for” his company, American Sound Design, the statement says.

On Jan. 31, 2021, for example, Gatlin emailed Jones the following false invoices: Jackson Rehab Ribbon Cutting ($29,625); MTI 50th Anniversary/Jungle Island ($21,625); Virtual Conference Jackson Residents ($26,215), and Jackson Covid Media Village ($43,562.50).

“These payments were kickbacks to Charmaine Gatlin for paying [American Sound Design] via the Foundation,” the statement says.

Also, “on at least one occasion, Jones provided services to [100 Black Men of America], but Jones and Gatlin made it appear on the invoice as though the services were being provided to the Foundation,” says a charging document filed against Jones, which didn’t include details.

In a statement, the 100 Black Men of America said it was not aware of Gatlin’s alleged kickback scheme with Jones and his audiovisual company, including billing the Jackson Health Foundation for services that his firm instead provided to the Atlanta organization.

Jones provided those services to the youth mentoring group for its annual conferences between 2019 and 2024 under a different audiovisual company, American Electronic Entertainment, 100 Black Men of America confirmed.

In fact, 100 Black Men of America said it directly paid Jones’ company more than $500,000 for his work, but the organization did not provide details of the payments.

“100 Black Men of America, Inc. has no knowledge of Ms. Gatlin’s alleged receipt of cash payments or fraudulent invoices being submitted by Ms. Gatlin or any other vendors in the indictment involving Jackson Health Foundation,” the organization said in the statement provided to the Herald, adding that “Gatlin has never been paid by the 100 BMOA as a ‘go-between’ to then pay vendors for services provided to 100 BMOA.”

Gatlin had worked for 100 Black Men of America from 2009 to 2014 before Jackson’s Foundation hired her a decade ago. During her tenure at Jackson, she continued to work with the Atlanta organization as an unpaid volunteer. After the Foundation dismissed Gatlin last November, the 100 Black Men of America hired her in January as a contractor for its annual conference in 2025 —but fired her in May when the organization said it learned about her indictment.

“We are fully cooperating with law enforcement and will continue to do so until this matter is concluded,” the organization said.

This story was originally published August 12, 2025 at 4:40 PM.