Georgia man to serve 23 years for fraud

SPRINGFIELD - A 57-year-old Georgia man has been sentenced to nearly 23 years in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering.

U.S. District Judge James Shadid on Wednesday also ordered Kenneth W. Lewis to pay restitution of $5.6 million.

Lewis was convicted in February of four counts of wire fraud and 11 counts of money laundering. Trial testimony established Lewis began in the 1990s to offer investors the chance to generate income through secretive overseas transactions.

Evidence showed he obtained more than $5.5 million from others to cover living expenses. He told investors he was living in Switzerland for seven years working on the deals. But he was living in a New Jersey hotel, where he was arrested in July 2012.

Authorities seized $8,000 in assets when he was arrested.