DETROIT, MI — A Beverly Hills man has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after prosecutors said he used fake business records to steal $2.18 million from pandemic relief programs. Jabari Long, 46, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud before his sentencing in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
Along with the prison term, Long was ordered to pay $2.2 million in restitution and will spend three years on supervised release after he is released. Federal officials said the case centered on false claims tied to the Paycheck Protection Program, a federal aid effort created to help businesses survive the early months of the COVID-19 crisis.
How prosecutors say the false company records worked
Authorities said Long submitted fraudulent applications through his company, Priceless Preservations Construction. Those filings allegedly relied on counterfeit business information and fake tax documents to make the business look far larger and more expensive than it really was.
According to federal prosecutors, the applications claimed the company had 50 employees and average monthly payroll of $875,000. Investigators said the reality was very different, describing the business as having few, if any, employees and little to no payroll expenses.
That mismatch was central to the fraud case. The Paycheck Protection Program was meant for real employers facing financial strain, and federal officials said Long used made-up numbers to qualify for money he was not entitled to receive.
A relief program designed for pandemic-era business losses
Congress created the Paycheck Protection Program in March 2020 as emergency assistance for companies hit hard at the start of the pandemic. The loans were backed by the Small Business Administration and were intended to help employers keep workers on payroll and cover essential costs.
Businesses that met the requirements could apply for financing, and some borrowers also had to satisfy separate conditions to have their loans forgiven. That structure made the program a major lifeline for many legitimate small businesses during the COVID-19 downturn.
Federal officials in Michigan have repeatedly emphasized that the aid was meant for companies operating in good faith. Prosecutors said the Long case is one example of what happened when someone allegedly tried to turn that emergency system into a personal windfall.
Officials say some of the money paid for a home
Investigators said Long did not just pocket the proceeds on paper. Federal authorities said part of the stolen money was used to buy a home, adding a real-world footprint to the alleged fraud scheme.
That detail was highlighted by U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., who said Long falsely claimed to employ dozens of people through what he called a so-called company. Gorgon said the fraud carried a “significant price” that Long is now being forced to pay through the prison sentence and restitution order.
Prosecutors did not describe any broader business operations that would have supported the huge payroll claims. Instead, they said the company was largely a front for the false applications that produced the money.
Why federal investigators focused on the case
The IRS Criminal Investigation Detroit Field Office handled the investigation with Homeland Security Investigations. Both agencies work regularly on financial crimes that cross agency and jurisdiction lines, especially cases tied to federal benefit programs.
HSI Detroit Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Pierczynski said legitimate businesses that followed the rules during the pandemic deserved protection from people who tried to abuse the programs for personal gain. His comments reflected a broader federal push to track down misused relief money.
The case was prosecuted in federal court in Michigan, where officials have brought several pandemic relief fraud cases. Long’s sentence adds to a growing list of prosecutions involving suspicious loan applications and false payroll statements tied to COVID-era aid.
What the sentence means for Long and for restitution efforts
Long will serve his two-year prison term before beginning supervised release, a period in which federal authorities will monitor his conduct after incarceration. The supervision term is scheduled to last three years.
The restitution order totals $2.2 million, slightly more than the amount prosecutors say was stolen. Restitution is meant to help recover losses caused by the fraud, although court records did not say how much, if any, money has already been recovered.
For now, the case stands as another Michigan example of pandemic relief fraud being met with prison time, financial penalties and long-term supervision. Federal officials said the message is aimed at protecting public programs that were built to help businesses survive a national emergency.
