Detroit Man Convicted of Fraud and Gun Offenses

DETROIT – A Detroit man pleaded guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.

Ison was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge James A. Tarasca of the FBI’s Detroit Division.

Pleading guilty was Damon Long, 25.  Long is scheduled to be sentenced on August 16, 2022 before United States District Judge Victoria Roberts.

According to court records, Long was a member of a violent street gang, the Glock Boyz. The Glock Boyz have perpetrated acts of violence against rival gangs and have been victims of such violence.   In May 2021, the FBI executed a search warrant at Long’s residence in Detroit and seized two of Long’s loaded pistols. Agents also seized evidence that Long engaged in wire fraud by submitting false applications for federal Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits.  Long, who is a convicted felon, admitted illegally possessing the pistols during his plea hearing.  Long also admitted that he fraudulently submitted UI claims in the names of more than 10 people and received more than $300,000 in proceeds from this fraud.

“This case is an example of how we will use every tool available to target violent offenders and remove them from our communities,” stated U.S. Attorney Ison.

“Damon Long defrauded the State of California of more than $300,000 by filing for unemployment insurance benefits in the names of dozens of identity theft victims.  We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and state workforce agencies to safeguard the integrity of unemployment insurance benefit programs," said Irene Lindow, Special Agent-in-Charge, Chicago Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Special agents from the FBI’s Violent Gang Taskforce and the Department of Labor investigated this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys assigned to the United States Attorney’s Office’s Violent & Organized Crime Unit.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.