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Date: Sept. 28, 2026
Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov
Detroit – Jabari Long was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to executing a multi-million-dollar fraud scheme involving pandemic assistance funds, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Todd Strom, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeremy Pierczynski, Homeland Security Investigations Detroit.
Long previously pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiring to commit wire fraud. According to court records, Long used a contracting business called “Priceless Preservations Construction” to obtain a fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan in the amount of $2,187,000 and a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loan in the amount of $150,000. Long claimed the business had 50 employees and an average monthly payroll of $875,000. In truth, Priceless Preservations Construction had few, if any, employees and little to no payroll expenses. Records show that within weeks of receiving the fraudulently obtained pandemic assistance funds, Long used a portion of them to buy a four-bedroom home in the exclusive Beverly Hills community. In pleading guilty, Long also admitted that he submitted false tax documentation to obtain his loan funding.
“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,” stated U.S. Attorney Gorgon.
“Jabari Long used fake tax documents and manufactured counterfeit business information to fraudulently obtain more than $2 million in pandemic relief funds,” said Todd Strom, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Detroit Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS-CI special agents are highly skilled at following the money and uncovering the financial evidence behind complex fraud schemes. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to protect taxpayer dollars and hold accountable those who exploit federal programs for personal gain.”
“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. “When fraudsters submit false information, invent payrolls, or misrepresent their operations to steal taxpayer-funded assistance, they undermine public trust and divert resources from the businesses and workers these programs were designed to support. HSI remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and root out those who exploit federal programs to line their own pockets.”
Long was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,187,500 and serve three years on supervised release following the completion of his custodial sentence.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind.
IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 16 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.