Man accused in $200,000 Macon fraud case faces federal charges. What we know.
A man faces federal charges in Macon for deceiving an oil company with local employees into paying him and others nearly $200,000, according to court records.
Steven Lewis, who was indicted on Nov. 21 on one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud, was set to be arraigned in federal court Thursday afternoon. He allegedly received close to $200,000 from the Walthall Oil Company by sending an invoice for a fuel truck. He and others worked together to make the invoice seems as if it was coming from a legitimate source, court records say. An employee who worked in the company’s offices in Macon sent over the money, the indictment said.
Lewis was arrested in North Georgia on Dec. 18 and made a court appearance in Atlanta. He was released on an unsecured bond of $10,000. Now Lewis will appear in front of Magistrate Judge Charles Weigle in Macon.
If convicted, Lewis may face up to 30 years in prison as well as a fine of up to $1 million. He would also have to forfeit any belongings derived from the money he received from Walthall Oil, the indictment said.
Others were involved, indictment says
An employee from Walthall Oil received an invoice for $194,086.72 for a fuel truck on Feb. 23, 2023. Although the email appeared to be from a vendor that the oil supplier regularly did business with, the email was sent by a co-conspirator, according to the indictment.
The co-conspirator allegedly instructed the employee to send the money to a Bank of America account that belonged to “Fly Summa LLC,” which the indictment said belonged to Lewis. He opened the account on Jan. 31, 2023.
The following day, Lewis allegedly received the payment, court records say.
“A Walthall employee in Macon, Georgia directed this wire be sent from their Cadence Bank account to Steven Lewis’ Bank of America account ... believing payment was being provided to their legitimate vendor rather than to Steven Lewis,” the indictment said.
Some days after the transaction, Lewis allegedly cashed out two checks made out to two other conspirators. One received $38,800 while another received $116,141.70. Lewis kept the remaining $39,145.02, the indictment said.
The same conspirator who sent the first invoice sent another to Walthall Oil for $23,141.70 on Feb. 28, 2023. Lewis’ Bank of America account received it the same day, however, “the payment was reversed back to Walthall Oil,” the indictment said.
