Former business manager of Columbia-based architecture sentenced in wire fraud case

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) – A former business manager at LTC Associates was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to multiple counts of wire fraud.

According to court documents, Kathy Drawdy Stewart, 62, pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining at least $270,000 in company funds through wire fraud, in January.

Officials said she obtained the funds while working for the firm from at least 2016 through May 2023.

The court documents state that the transfers included using her personal credit card and compensating herself through her access to the business’s bank accounts. Officials said she was caught after she attempted to make an unauthorized $20,000 transfer from the company’s bank account to her American Express account in May 2023.

Her American Express account review revealed that Stewart spent over $100,000 on cosmetic procedures, travel, interior decorating and retail.

LTC Associates is a privately owned architecture firm incorporated in South Carolina with headquarters in Columbia. Stewart became the business manager in 2009.

United States District Judge Joseph F. Anderson also ordered two years of court-ordered supervision to follow the time served in federal prison, restitution of over $270,000 and a fine of $10,000.

You can find more background information about the case in the documents below:

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