Atlanta ( CNN ) -- A Georgia banker who went missing last month is being sought by federal authorities for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars from a south Georgia bank . Aubrey `` Lee '' Price , 46 , is charged with wire fraud , and is suspected of defrauding more than 100 investors of at least $ 17 million over the course of two years , a criminal complaint from the U.S. attorney 's office in the Eastern District of New York , said . In late 2010 , Price was celebrated by his peers and written up in newspaper articles after a company he controlled bought a controlling portion of the troubled Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey , Georgia . He was supposed to invest the bank 's capital . Instead , prosecutors say Price used a New York-based `` clearing firm '' -- a dummy company set up to hide money -- to cover up fraudulent wire transfers and investments . Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey -- about 170 miles southeast of Atlanta -- had been in operation for nearly 90 years when it was closed Friday by the state of Georgia , with the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation named as receiver . The FDIC said Ameris Bank in Moultrie , Georgia , would take over operations of Montgomery 's accounts and its two branches . Price disappeared about two weeks ago after telling his friends he had lost `` a large sum of money through his trading activities , '' the complaint said . The complaint quoted a letter purportedly written by Price in June to acquaintances and business associates . Price indicated he planned to commit suicide off the Florida coast by `` jumping off a ferry boat , '' the complaint said . But federal investigators , including the FBI , believe Price , who owns property in Venezuela and Guatemala , may be on the run . FBI Special Agent Michael Howard said in the complaint that investigators believe Price `` may own a boat that would be large enough to travel to Venezuela from Florida . '' Price was last seen in Key West , Florida , in mid-June , and `` despite a recent search by the ( U.S. ) Coast Guard , Price 's body has not been recovered , '' the complaint said . Prosecutors say airline records indicate Price had returned to the United States from a trip to Venezuela on June 2 . `` Certainly we are receiving any information that arrives locally , but any updates or comments would have to come from the U.S. attorney 's office in New York , '' Stephen Emmett with the FBI Atlanta Field Office told CNN on Sunday . There was no one available for comment in the New York U.S. attorney 's office Sunday . If tried and convicted , Price could face up to 30 years in prison .
Aubrey `` Lee '' Price is suspected of defrauding more than 100 investors of at least $ 17 million . Price , 46 , was last spotted in Key West , Florida , in mid-June . Federal investigators believe Price , who owns property abroad , may be on the run . He purportedly said in a letter he planned to commit suicide by `` jumping off a ferry boat ''