An Addison man who turned Covid relief money into a personal luxury car fund is heading to federal prison for six-and-a-half years.
Francesco Distefano, 29, was sentenced Monday to 78 months behind bars after admitting to wire fraud in a scheme that prosecutors say siphoned more than $3.3 million from pandemic relief programs. According to federal authorities, Distefano also collected about $37,500 in Illinois unemployment benefits while still working for his own business.
In a press release, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Chicago said U.S. District Judge Jeremy C. Daniel imposed the prison term after Distefano pleaded guilty last year to one count of wire fraud. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Illinois, detailed how loan and grant applications filed in 2020 and 2021 falsely inflated employee counts, revenue, and payroll, causing the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program to lose more than $3.3 million.
How prosecutors say the scheme worked
Prosecutors say Distefano and co-defendant Sargis Urumieh applied for PPP and EIDL funds for two companies tied to Urumieh and for a tech company controlled by Distefano, then quietly steered the cash toward themselves instead of to struggling workers.
As the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted, Distefano used a chunk of that money on luxury vehicles rather than on legitimate payroll or rent. Prosecutors say Urumieh has also pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22, 2026.
In a sentencing memorandum quoted by prosecutors, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey S. Snell wrote that Distefano's conduct "was not the result of a momentary lack in judgment, but a continuing series of decisions, motivated by greed." In other words, this was not a one-time bad call; it was a long-running hustle.
Luxury cars seized and forfeited
Court filings and local reporting say Distefano spent fraud proceeds on a Lamborghini Huracán, a Maserati Ghibli, a Land Rover Evoque SE, and a Porsche 911, a high-end shopping list that caught the attention of federal agents. FOX 32 Chicago reported the purchases occurred during 2020 and 2021 and that the government later seized and forfeited those vehicles as part of its asset-forfeiture efforts.
Prosecutors say restitution and forfeiture are intended to claw back those ill-gotten gains for taxpayers who were supposed to benefit from the relief programs.
What is next
Urumieh's sentencing is scheduled for July 22, 2026, according to court filings, and will follow Distefano's punishment. The case underscores how federal authorities are still pursuing pandemic-relief fraud tied to the CARES Act and related programs, long after the initial crisis faded from daily headlines.
Officials have urged anyone with information about suspected COVID-19 relief fraud to contact the National Center for Disaster Fraud.
