Darnell Jones, also known as “EJ,” was sentenced on Mar. 26 to 145 months in prison by United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry in Brooklyn federal court for wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft related to a Covid-19 unemployment benefits fraud scheme. Jones was ordered to pay $838,120 in restitution after using stolen personal information from March 2020 through August 2021 to illegally obtain more than $800,000 from federally funded unemployment insurance programs.
The case highlights the impact of pandemic-related fraud on government assistance programs intended for vulnerable residents and the role such schemes play in supporting violent criminal organizations.
United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr., Federal Bureau of Investigation Assistant Director James C. Barnacle, Jr., and New York City Police Department Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch announced the sentencing. Nocella said, “Today’s sentence demonstrates that those who defraud innocent victims and pilfer federal funds to support violent gangs will face severe punishment.” He added that cutting off sources of income like these fraud schemes is essential for dismantling violent gangs.
Barnacle said, “Darnell Jones, a Ninedee gang member, stole more than $800,000 intended for unemployment benefit recipients to fund the enterprise’s illicit operations and firearms procurement. Jones manipulated financial programs designed to support vulnerable New Yorkers during a global pandemic just to unlawfully facilitate the gang’s criminal activity.” Tisch stated, “Darnell Jones stole more than $800,000 in federal funds meant to help vulnerable New Yorkers during a global pandemic and used those funds to bankroll a violent gang… Today’s sentencing sends a clear message: anyone who steals from the government will face real consequences.”
Court documents show that Jones led the Ninedee Gang’s fraudulent activities out of East New York’s Louis H. Pink Houses complex in Brooklyn by obtaining personal data—including bank account details—to commit wire fraud with an intended loss exceeding $2.7 million between May 2021 and October 2024. The group engaged in check fraud, postal money order scams, and other illegal activities while using proceeds from these crimes for drug sales and firearms purchases.
According to the official website, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York supports community outreach efforts as well as victim assistance initiatives while handling federal crime prosecutions across Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Suffolk County; its offices are located in Brooklyn and Central Islip; Breon Peace currently serves as United States Attorney; it operates as the designated federal prosecutor’s office representing civil matters within this jurisdiction.
Eight members of the Ninedee Gang have been prosecuted so far—including seven who pleaded guilty—and one convicted at trial faces mandatory life imprisonment.
