A Grovetown man has been sentenced to federal prison after he plead guilty to a scheme involving selling expensive computer equipment to more than 40 customers who did not received their orders.
Steven Drawdy, 40, was sentenced to 32 months in prison after he plead guilty to wire fraud, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Drawdy was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge J. Randal Hall to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
MORE: Richmond County deputy claims body cam malfunction during arrest of Burke deputy
“Steven Drawdy ripped off dozens of people by preying on their desire to make money in the complex world of cryptocurrency,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “Our law enforcement partners did exceptional work in identifying and shutting down this scheme.”
According to testimony and court documents and testimony, from about August 2021 through April 2022, Drawdy was involved in an online cryptocurrency discussion forum. He received more than $1.1 million from at least 42 victims who were under the impression that they were paying Drawdy to provide them with cryptocurrency “mining” computers.
However, instead of delivering the computers, Drawdy pocketed the payments and eventually ceased communicating with the customers. He offered a partial refund in some cases, but required the customer to pay a “processing fee” to receive the refund. However, he would not give the refund or the computer while stoppi9ng all communications with the customer.
“While using the latest in technology as his hook to attack victims, Drawdy’s actions were nothing more than old-fashioned fraud,” said FBI Atlanta Assistant Special Agent in Charge Brian Ozden. “The FBI will continue to go after criminals doing any type of fraud and seek to hold them accountable.”
The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer A. Stanley.
