Darnell Jones, also known as "EJ," was sentenced on Mar. 26 in Brooklyn federal court to 145 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy and aggravated identity theft related to a scheme that stole more than $800,000 from Covid-19 unemployment insurance programs. United States District Judge Dora L. Irizarry also ordered Jones to pay $838,120 in restitution to the New York State Department of Labor.
The case highlights efforts by law enforcement to target criminal groups exploiting pandemic relief funds intended for vulnerable individuals. According to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Jones used stolen personal information between March 2020 and August 2021 to obtain fraudulent benefits and admitted attempting further wire fraud with an intended loss exceeding $2.7 million during his April 2025 guilty plea.
“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, Jr. “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.”
FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr., 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. Alongside our law enforcement partners, the FBI will continue to stem any source of revenue supporting the viability of gangs plaguing our communities.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch added: “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 filings show that Jones was part of the Ninedee Gang operating out of East New York's Louis H. Pink Houses complex in Brooklyn; members engaged in violence and multiple forms of fraud including check scams and postal money order schemes while seeking control over their territory through intimidation or violence.
The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York supports community outreach efforts according to its official website. The office handles both federal crime prosecutions and civil matters representation as noted online, operates offices in Brooklyn and Central Islip per its website, covers Brooklyn as well as Queens, Staten Island, Nassau County, and Suffolk County as indicated online, functions as the designated federal prosecutor's office according to its official site, with Breon Peace serving as United States Attorney as noted on its website.
Eight members connected with Ninedee have been prosecuted for various crimes; seven pleaded guilty while Maliek Miller was convicted at trial last June facing mandatory life imprisonment.
The prosecution was led by Assistant United States Attorneys Emily J. Dean and Irisa Chen from the Office’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.
