Steven Lemma, the Ponzi Scheme Victim Who Established Portland’s Securus Payments

Who would have thought that a person scammed and lost all of his savings years ago would become one of the top young executives in Portland? Almost nobody did except for Steven Lemma – co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Securus Payments, the leading credit and debit processing payment services company in Portland.

Before Lemma became one of the sought-after young business leaders in Portland, he was just like any other American looking for ways to become a successful business owner or entrepreneur. However, the life and career story of Lemma was somewhat different from other successful executives of today. In an interview with the Portland Business Journal, he shared that before becoming an accomplished CEO, he had undergone several challenges. He revealed that he was duped in a Ponzi scheme; and after which, he decided to go to college to become a registered nurse. Lemma was not destined to become a registered nurse but a successful executive. Before finishing his nursing school, he was invited by his colleague Mychol Robirds to become partners in a business. Without even thinking twice, Lemma joined Robirds to establish Securus Payments – and the rest is history.

Presently, Securus is one of the most respected credit and debit payment processing services firms not only in Portland but in many parts of the country as well. In fact, the Portland Business Journal has named the company as the fastest-growing private companies. In addition to this recognition, the company’s CEO, Lemma, was likewise recognized as one of the top executives under the age of 40. These recognitions and citations have helped the company to further establish its solid reputation in the industry.

The company has helped many small, medium, and large companies since its establishment in 2009. It has been focusing on providing business ventures better methods in accepting credit and debit payments. Due to the company’s youthful, dynamic, and no non-sense management, it is able to cope with the demands of the ever-changing and challenging market. The wise and expert ideas of Lemma and the company’s key people, the firm is able to hold a solid stake in the industry.