A Metro Detroit man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for fraudulently securing more than $2.3 million in pandemic-relief loans, including funds used to buy a home in Beverly Hills, Michigan.
Jabari Long, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud after using his contracting company, Priceless Preservations Construction, to obtain a $2.187 million Paycheck Protection Programme loan and a $150,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan.
Prosecutors said Long claimed the business employed 50 people and had an average monthly payroll of $875,000. In reality, it had few, if any, employees and little to no payroll expenditure, according to court records.
Fraudulent pandemic-relief applications
Long admitted submitting false tax documents and other fabricated business information as part of the applications. Within weeks of receiving the money, he used some of the proceeds to purchase a four-bedroom property in the affluent Detroit suburb.
He was sentenced on Monday, 28 September, in federal court in Detroit. Alongside the 24-month prison term, he was ordered to pay $2,187,500 in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release after his release.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation division. Federal prosecutors said the investigation formed part of wider efforts to pursue people accused of exploiting taxpayer-funded assistance intended to support businesses and workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.
