Georgia Man Sentenced in Nearly $800K Theft From Texas City

HOUSTON (AP) — A Georgia man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for a bogus invoice scam that cost a Central Texas city nearly $800,000.

Derrick Ervin of Atlanta was sentenced Tuesday to 77 months behind bars in the email scheme targeting the city of Bryan. A judge in Houston also ordered the 40-year-old Ervin to repay Bryan.

Ervin in November pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Investigators say Ervin last March and others posed as city vendors, emailed fake invoices to Bryan and asked that funds be sent to new bank accounts.

The municipal money was sent to accounts controlled by Ervin and set up using stolen identities.

Bryan is a city of about 84,000, located 90 miles (144.83 kilometers) northeast of Houston.