PORTSMOUTH, Va. — Federal prosecutors said a Portsmouth gang member has been sentenced to over four years in prison after a 2021 shooting led to the discovery that he was also involved with defrauding a COVID-19 relief program.
The Department of Justice said that in May of 2021, 31-year-old Marquell Lamont Moon, a member of the Crips gang, fired about 27 rounds at a man who was with his 3-year-old child. The man was shot at least once in his left hand.
Prosecutors said Moon later led police on a high-speed chase before crashing into a home in Chesapeake. He discarded a backpack and other objects as he fled from the crash scene on foot. Police recovered more than $8,000 and a stolen handgun from Moon's vehicle.
Among the items found in his vehicle and backpack were credit and bank cards, a card embossing machine, a notebook detailing a financial fraud scheme, and correspondence with the Virginia Employment Commission (VEC). A total of 34 cards were either in another person’s name or there was no name associated with the card. There were also 28 blank debit/credit cards with no identifying information on the magnetic strip.
Prosecutors said Moon fraudulently obtained unemployment benefits that had been expanded and initiated due to the COVID-19 pandemic and also unlawfully obtained the personally identifiable information (PII) of 10 people and used that information to fraudulently apply to VEC for unemployment insurance benefits, totaling $112,633.
Federal authorities from across several states located and interviewed the PII victims and determined that they did not know Moon and had not filed for unemployment insurance in Virginia. One victim was dead while another was too apprehensive to even comply with law enforcement.
Moon, who is currently incarcerated for malicious wounding, was sentenced Thursday to four years and nine months for aggravated identity theft, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and defrauding a COVID relief program.
