A Cleveland, Ga. man was sentenced to two years in federal prison on charges that he defrauded investors of more than $1 million, authorities said.
Elmer Swain Stewart, 67, persuaded 18 individuals to invest their retirement savings in tracts of timber land, costing them more than $1 million, according to U.S. Department of Justice attorney Byung J. "BJay" Pak. Stewart pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in December, 2017.
“Stewart’s victims trusted him with much of their retirement savings and gave him thousands of dollars to invest,” Pak said. “In return, this greedy defendant stole from his investors and used their money to fund his lavish lifestyle.”
According to Pak and information presented in court, Stewart represented to potential investors that he was aware of tracts of land in Georgia and other states with large timber stands that could be auctioned to the highest bidder.
Instead of investing the money, Pak said he used it to pay rent on a horse farm valued at $1.5 million that he lived on and took vacations to Alaska, Hawaii and other places.
After Stewart’s two years in federal prison, he’ll have three years of supervised release, Pak said. Stewart is also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $218,000. The FBI investigated this case.
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