DETROIT – The former CFO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has admitted he stole millions of dollars from his former employer.
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Former Chief Financial Officer William Smith was formally fired from the nonprofit in May amid an FBI investigation. More than $40 million was reportedly embezzled and spent on airline tickets, hotels, limos, clothing, jewelry, luxury goods and more.
According to a criminal complaint, Smith had used Conservancy funds to pay for his family’s credit card bills and diverted nonprofit funds to The Joseph Group, a company he controlled.
Authorities said that neither of Smith’s actions were authorized or approved by the Board and that The Joseph Group was not an approved vendor and provided no services to the nonprofit. As CFO, Smith had sole access and control over the Conservancy’s bank accounts and was the only person with the password for its business checking account online portal.
The criminal complaint alleges the Conservancy paid $14.9 million toward an American Express account Smith reportedly used for personal expenses and $24.4 million to The Joseph Group.
Smith reportedly doctored bank statements provided to the Conservancy’s accountant, which resulted in falsified financial information being entered into the nonprofit’s accounting software, which hid the fraud.
In a plea deal, Smith has admitted to embezzling nearly $15 million from the nonprofit organization for personal use. Further details regarding the plea are unknown, but Smith remains free on bail, monitored by a GPS tether.
A lawsuit was filed against Smith in July, citing “emotional damage” inflicted upon the community that supports the Detroit Riverwalk due to the “elaborate scheme and cover-up.”
The board that oversees the Conservancy has pledged unwavering commitment, vowing to leave no stone unturned in its relentless pursuit of recovering the embezzled funds.
