Michigan man faked 50 employees, $875K payroll to steal $2.18M in pandemic relief funds

A Beverly Hills, Michigan man was sentenced to two years in federal prison Monday for a $2.18 million fraud scheme involving pandemic relief funds.

Jabari Long, 46, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan after previously pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, the district attorney's office said. Long was also ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution and serve three years on supervised release after his prison term ends.

Federal authorities said Long used fake tax documents and counterfeit business information to fraudulently apply for Paycheck Protection Program funds through his company, Priceless Preservations Construction. His applications claimed the business had 50 employees and an average monthly payroll of $875,000, when prosecutors said the company had few, if any, employees and little to no payroll expenses.

Authorities said Long used some of the proceeds to buy a home.

"Jabari Long falsely claimed to employ dozens through his so-called company 'Priceless Preservations.' But the only thing he preserved through this fraud was his greed. And his scheme wasn't priceless at all; it carried a significant price he's now being forced to pay," said U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr.

Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program in March 2020 to provide emergency assistance to businesses facing financial hardship at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible businesses could apply for loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, with additional requirements for those seeking loan forgiveness.

The IRS Criminal Investigation's Detroit Field Office investigated the case alongside Homeland Security Investigations.

"Legitimate businesses that followed the rules and relied on pandemic-assistance programs in good faith deserve protection from those who seek to abuse those programs for personal enrichment," said HSI Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Pierczynski.

The case is one of several pandemic relief fraud prosecutions federal authorities have pursued in Michigan.