A Collin County man and a Florida resident have been convicted of federal crimes related to a COVID fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr.
Cord Dean Newman, 47, of Homosassa, Florida, and Eric “Phoenix” Marascio, 53, of Allen, were found guilty on February 6, 2025, of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering after a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle.
The case centered around a multimillion-dollar fraud conspiracy involving the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, both established under the CARES Act. The defendants were found to have fraudulently obtained loans under these programs by submitting false applications. Once the loans were acquired, Newman and Marascio misused the funds for non-business purposes, including investments in foreign exchange currency markets, vehicle purchases, and other unrelated expenditures.
The CARES Act, enacted in March 2020, aimed to provide financial assistance to businesses suffering due to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of its components, the PPP, authorized forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain expenses, while the EIDL program offered low-interest loans for businesses, homeowners, and renters.
Both defendants face up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing. Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the Eastern District of Texas.
