DETROIT – Former Detroit Riverfront Conservancy CFO William Smith was seen dodging Local 4′s cameras just moments after leaving federal court, where a plea was supposed to be determined in the case of wire fraud and money laundering over 11 years.
Instead of $40 million, it’s now being discussed that Smith may have gotten away with as much as $65 million in this embezzlement scheme. Or at least that’s how much the conservancy lost due to the former CFO’s alleged crimes.
In court, it seemed that Smith would plead guilty, telling the judge he agreed to pay back the restitution of about $44.3 million.
But once the details on how that would be repaid were revealed, Smith’s lawyer asked for the court to recess afterward, claiming the hearing needed to be rescheduled.
If convicted, each charge carries a sentence of up to 20 years in Prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is not too pleased with the outcome.
“We are disappointed that today did not meet our expectations of a guilty plea, and we look forward to this being resolved in the near future. All of us at the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy are thankful to the United States Attorney’s Office for their continued efforts in investigating and prosecuting this case.”
Local 4 will stay on top of when this hearing is rescheduled.