$200,000 Macon fraud case lands man in prison for a year, records say
A man who defrauded an oil company out of nearly $200,000 by getting an employee in Macon to pay a fake invoice was sentenced Wednesday, federal court records show.
Steven Lewis was sentenced on Wednesday to a year and a day in prison after he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud on June 18. Lewis worked alongside others to make a fake invoice for nearly $200,000 for a fuel truck from Walthall Oil Company, court records show.
In addition to getting prison time, Lewis was also ordered to forfeit nearly $40,000 that he received from Walthall Oil, as well as make restitution of $79,563.37, according to court records. The U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Georgia didn’t immediately clarify whether the forfeiture would go toward the restitution.
How fraudsters profited off fake invoice
The oil company received an invoice for $194,086.72 for a fuel truck on Feb. 23, 2023. Though the invoice appeared to be from a vendor the oil company regularly did business with, it was sent by one of Lewis’ co-conspirators, according to court records.
An employee at the oil company, working in a Macon office, was instructed by the co-conspirator to send the money to a Bank of America account that belonged to “Fly Summa LLC,” which federal prosecutors say belonged to Lewis. He had opened the account on Jan. 31, 2023.
Lewis received the payment the following day, according to court records. He cashed out two checks for his conspirators days after the transaction, with one receiving $38,800 and the other receiving $116,141.70.
Lewis kept the remaining $39,145.02, according to court records.
The conspirator who sent the first invoice sent another to Walthall Oil for $23,141.70 on Feb. 28, 2023. Though Lewis’ account received the payment, it was reversed back to Walthall Oil, according to court records.
