Two men sentenced to prison for scheme to defraud Savannah Port logistics service

SAVANNAH, Georgia: A logistics company employee and a trucking company owner have been sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to a scheme that paid for fake transportation invoices.

Philip Charles Smith, 41, of Richmond Hill, Georgia, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and ordered to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term, while Antonio J. Evans Sr., 41, of Sylvania, Georgia, was sentenced to 13 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, said Margaret E. "Meg" Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. Both men pleaded guilty to Wire Fraud. There is no parole in the federal system.

U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood also ordered Smith and Evans to be held equally responsible for paying $821,899 in restitution.

"Private companies that serve the transportation needs for the Port of Savannah, like all companies, deserve to expect honesty and integrity from their employees and service providers," said U.S. Attorney Heap. "Philip Smith betrayed the trust of his employer in order to funnel fake work to Antonio Evans so the two of them could line their pockets, and they're now being held accountable for their dishonesty."

As described in court documents and testimony, Smith previously was employed by a national logistics and transportation company that served the Port of Savannah, while Smith was the owner of a local trucking company that served as a licensed carrier for Smith's employer. One of Smith's duties was to award contracts on behalf of the company to such third-party carriers to move freight from the port to other destinations.

From about July 2021 to August 2024, Smith devised a scheme in which he used his employee access to create fake freight-hauling jobs that he assigned to Evans. The company then would unwittingly pay Evans for work that didn't exist, and Evans would kick back a portion of the funds to Smith. The $821,899 in restitution represents the total amount of the company's loss from the three years of the scheme.

"Schemes like this exploit positions of trust and undermine the integrity of critical supply chain operations supporting the Port of Savannah," said Brad Snider, Senior Supervisory Resident Agent of FBI Georgia's Savannah office. "The FBI is committed to holding accountable those who use fraud and deception for personal gain, and we will continue working with our partners to protect businesses from financial crimes that impact commerce and the broader economy."

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted for the United States of America by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Darron J. Hubbard and L. Alexander Hamner.