Darnell Jones, Covid-19 Unemployment Benefits Fraud, New York 2023

Darnell Jones, also known as "EJ," has been sentenced to 145 months in prison for his role in a scheme to defraud the federal government of Covid-19 unemployment benefits. Jones, a member of the Ninedee Gang, was convicted of wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft in federal court in Brooklyn.

According to prosecutors, Jones used stolen personal identifying information to obtain over $800,000 in federal unemployment benefits from March 2020 to August 2021. He was also ordered to pay $838,120 in restitution to the New York State Department of Labor as part of his sentence.

As part of his guilty plea in April 2025, Jones admitted to obtaining personal identifying information between May 2021 and October 2024 to commit wire fraud with an intended loss of over $2.7 million.

The investigation into Jones’ scheme was a collaborative effort between the FBI, the NYPD, and the New York State Department of Labor. The case highlights the importance of cutting off the financial lifelines of violent gangs like the Ninedee Gang.

"Today’s sentence demonstrates that those who defraud innocent victims and pilfer federal funds to support violent gangs will face severe punishment," said United States Attorney Joseph Nocella. "To successfully dismantle violent gangs who terrorize our neighborhoods and communities, it is essential that we cut off their sources of income, including from fraud schemes like the one perpetrated by the defendant here."

Jones’ scheme was part of a larger pattern of fraud and violence perpetrated by the Ninedee Gang, which operated out of the Louis H. Pink Houses in East New York, Brooklyn. The gang was affiliated with the "5" and "6" Pink Houses apartment buildings and engaged in gang-related violence within and outside of the New York City Housing Authority complex.

The sentencing of Jones and others involved in the Ninedee Gang’s scheme serves as a warning to anyone who would seek to defraud the government or engage in other forms of organized crime.

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