ROSEVILLE, Mich. – Federal agents conducted a criminal investigation into the owner of a Macomb County limousine company, and the alleged dark secret behind the investigation may have affected several paying customers.
The case involves wire taps and a Macomb County judicial candidate. Agents are focused on the limousine company, but customers who booked and paid for the service in preparation for celebrations had no idea the investigation was happening.
Multiple brides, grooms and others planning special events called Local 4's Help Me Hank to say A&A Dynasty limo service left them in a lurch. They said they lost money and couldn't get answers.
The man at the center of the federal cocaine investigation is Antonio Dwayne Lewis, the owner of A&A Dynasty.
"We believe he is a danger to the community," federal officials said in court. "Mr. Lewis individually has committed at least 50 felony offenses."
Christopher Rhodes and his then-fiance said they saw advertisements for A&A Dynasty on Facebook. They met with Lewis, paid a deposit and booked the limo bus for their wedding day.
"It felt a little too good to be true," Rhodes said. "They didn't show up on our wedding day."
The bus was a no-show, the deposit is gone and the owner vanished, they said.
Rhodes and his family aren't alone. A quick online search reveals similar complaints from people who paid and got nothing in return. One person called the company a fraud, and another said they can't get an answer to calls.
The customers didn't know Lewis was in the middle of a legal battle, which is laid out in federal court documents. According to agents, the limo bus some were booking was also being used to shuttle cocaine all over Macomb County.
Lewis had a long list of clients, including Paul Zyburski, an attorney and current candidate for judge of the 39th District Court in Roseville, according to court documents.
Investigators used wire taps, and the recorded conversations were revealed when Lewis appeared in federal court in Downtown Detroit.
"It was determined that Mr. Lewis had approximately 30 customers with whom he was involved in the distribution of controlled substances," federal officials said in court. "Mr. Lewis was frequently observed through a surveillance camera reporting to that particular vehicle to conduct what, by all appearances, are hand-to-hand drug transactions."
Lewis also had a long criminal past, including drug and assault charges, police said.
"He clearly has no respect for the law," federal officials said in court.
Hank Winchester reached out to Lewis' attorney.
"Mr. Lewis sincerely apologizes for the issues he has caused his clients," the attorney said in a statement. "He is aware some are owed money and he is now working to make sure these situations are resolved."
People who booked with A&A Dynasty were eager to get a good deal and didn't know about Lewis' criminal past.
"Unfortunately, I feel like those types of scams happen all the time," said Laura Blankenship, of the Better Business Bureau. "You want to make sure they have the right licenses, the proper registrations, everything to make sure they are a legitimate business."
A quick search would have revealed his criminal past and shown his license was suspended and his vehicle seized.
Lewis is expected to return to court in July. If found guilty, he could end up in prison.