Columbia woman sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for wire fraud

FILE

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO)– A Columbia woman was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud, said the DOJ.

According to the Department of Justice, 62-year-old Kathy Drawdy Stewart who was LTC Associates, Inc., business manager embezzled more than $270,000 from at least late 2016 through May 2023 from her longtime employer.

Investigators said during the time, Stewart regularly made unauthorized payments from the company’s bank accounts to her personal American Express account.

Stewart’s crimes were uncovered after she attempted to make an unauthorized $20,000 transfer from the company’s bank account to her American Express account in May 2023.

A review of her American Express account revealed that Stewart spent over $100,000 on cosmetic procedures, travel, interior decorating, and retail over the course of her criminal conduct, said the DOJ.

She was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, to be followed by a two-year term of court-ordered supervision.

The judge also ordered restitution of over $270,000, which officials said Stewart paid prior to her sentencing, and a fine of $10,000.