Feds say Plano man used company cards to fund $1.6M in personal expenses, including plane tickets, laser tag

A Plano man used his company’s credit cards to fund $1.6 million in purchases that included cars, first-class plane tickets, laser tag and dining at expensive steakhouses as well as Hooters, federal authorities.

Steven Edward Duety, 45, was indicted Tuesday on nine counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and he made an initial court appearance Friday.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas, from 2015 to 2019 Duety was the fleet manager for Builders FirstSource — a Dallas-based Fortune 500 company that says it’s the country’s largest building materials supplier. That position gave him access to credit cards that were supposed to be used for expenses related to the company’s vehicle fleet.

Instead, authorities allege, he and a relative used the cards to make personal purchases as well as to buy inventory for their candle businesses, including one named Steves the Man Candles.

Duety used the cards for nonexistent transactions that caused payment processors to put money in his or his relative’s bank accounts, according to the indictment. In some cases these transactions were labeled “car repair” or “fundraiser,” authorities say.

He spent the money on cars, luxury hotels, first-class plane tickets, furniture, dining at fancy steakhouses, visits to Hooters, landscaping, a Netflix subscription, laser tag and toys, as well as plane tickets and appliances for his relative, the indictment says.

If convicted, Duety faces up to 200 years in prison. It was unclear Friday whether he was in custody or whether he had an attorney.

Collin County court records show that Duety pleaded guilty in 2016 to one count of fraudulent use or possession of identifying information. The state-jail felony was reduced to a misdemeanor and he was given two years of deferred-adjudication probation. The case was dismissed when he completed the probation.