A mother and son duo from Macon have been sentenced after pleading guilty to a scheme where they embezzled more than $3.5 million from their employer over a 10-year span. According to a U.S. Attorney's Office press release, Billy Lee Wells, Jr., 47, and his mother Eva Rebecca Wells, 75, were handed prison sentences and substantial restitution orders for their roles in defrauding the Phil J. Sheridan Company, doing business as Mid-Georgia Sales.
Billy Wells, involved in information technology and sales, will serve 57 months in federal prison with no chance for parole and is slated to be followed by five years of supervised release. Additionally, he has been ordered to almost jointly pay back amounts totaling upwards of $6 million with his mother, including restitution to their former employer and the IRS. The sentence also includes an individual forfeiture of $3,404,772.22. Eva Wells, who served as the company's Office Manager, is facing a 46-month prison sentence and five years of supervised release. She too has been ordered to repay her portion of the restitution and forfeiture, with her total coming to just under $4 million.
Both defendants admitted to their crimes before U.S. District Judge C. Ashley Royal on January 23, with Billy Wells also pleading guilty to making and subscribing a false tax return. "The defendants used their position as trusted employees to steal from a small business for more than a decade, a crime that can carry long-term repercussions for all those affected," U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary stated in the press release. The office manager began to write unauthorized checks to herself and her son from the company's general operating fund back in December 2008, which continued until May 2019, when the theft was eventually discovered.
The FBI, IRS, and the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office were responsible for uncovering the scheme. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Howard prosecuted the cases.
