Scam costs City of Memphis $773K

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The City of Memphis lost $773,000 in a scam in 2022 that was not disclosed until this year.

The incident first came to light when it was mentioned by City Councilman Chase Carlisle in a June 4 council meeting. City officials confirmed details to WREG Wednesday.

A city spokesperson said that based on what they have learned, in February 2022, the City of Memphis made regular payments to Zellner Construction.

When an entity they believed to be the company requested payment, “they changed the account details and wired $773K to an account that was, indeed, not Zellner,” the spokesperson said.

The total amount lost on Feb. 19, 2022, was $773,695.45, according to a city document.

📡 See more breaking news, local news and weather from WREG.com for Memphis and the Mid-South .

📧 Sign up for WREG newsletters and have the latest top stories sent right to your inbox.

They were outside the window to retrieve funds when the mistake was realized, the city’s spokesperson said.

What could $773,000 have paid for? WREG dug up some recent city contracts and found several purchases that could’ve been covered by the missing money. Among them:

• $710,000: Maintenance of traffic signals
• $700,000: Tennis court improvements at the Frayser Tennis Court
• $500,000: Emergency purchase of ambulances
• $403,000: Ammunition for MPD
• $395,000: Purchase of 554 ballistic helmets and accessories

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com.