United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan announced today, August 27, 2009, that Eric R. Long, a resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court in Erie to seventy?one months in jail and ordered to pay $749,500 in restitution on his conviction for mail fraud and wire fraud.
United States District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin imposed the sentence on Long, age 39.
According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold, Long induced numerous people to invest approximately $750,000 in his company, Shepherd Networks Inc., with false promises of huge returns. Long also repeatedly lied to investors about the company’s business ventures and prospects for success. Most of the victim investors reside in St. Marys, Pennsylvania.
Prior to imposing sentence, Judge McLaughlin stated that this was an extremely serious crime, the callousness of which is hard to fathom, which resulted in a fundamental breach of trust involving friends and family.
Ms. Buchanan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the City of St. Marys Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Long.
