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Former Detroit Riverfront Conservancy CFO William Smith pleads guilty to embezzling more than $40 million

Former Detroit Riverfront Conservancy CFO William Smith pleads guilty to embezzling more than  million

DETROIT — Former Detroit Riverfront Conservancy CFO William A. Smith, 52, pleaded guilty Friday to embezzling more than $40 million from a non-profit organization according to a multi-year scheme.

Smith pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

According to the plea agreement, Smith admitted to organizing a scheme to embezzle funds from the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy from November 2012 to May 2024.

Smith listed nature protection funds into the bank account of The Joseph Group, a company he owned. About $24.4 million in protection funds went into that account during the scheme.

He also used the funds to pay off credit cards he used to buy furniture, designer clothes, handbags, lawn care services, plane tickets and other items for himself and his family, according to court documents.

In addition, the cash checks were purchased by Smith with funds from the nonprofit and used “for his own purposes without the knowledge or approval of the Conservancy’s board of directors,” according to a release from United States Attorney Dawn N. Eason.

“Today, William Smith pleaded guilty to a financial crime of staggering scale and impact,” Ison said. “Smith stole more than $40 million from the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to creating beautiful public spaces for Detroit residents and visitors to use and enjoy. Not only did Smith betray the trust of the Guard, but the trust of the entire community to enjoy wealth and comfort. I am still shocked by the scale of the fraud and the damage it has caused, and today’s guilty plea is an important step towards holding Mr Smith accountable for his outrageous behaviour.’

As part of the plea agreement, Smith agreed to pay at least $44.3 million in restitution.

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy plans to pursue legal action to recover the stolen money.

“We are pleased to see that Will Smith is being held accountable for his disgraceful actions.

We thank the US Attorney’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their extremely swift and thorough investigation that led to this plea agreement. He demands that Smith identify his assets and cooperate fully with the government in efforts to secure the return of the money stolen from the Conservancy.

This is an important step in the process, but our work does not end there. We will continue to pursue a civil process to recover the stolen money. We will also complete a review of our financial operations and announce a series of reforms to address the lessons learned from this scandal. Ultimately, we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that our projects are completed on schedule and that our operations are sustained well into the future.

The victims in this case are the Nature Conservancy, its generous donors, the people of Detroit and the state of Michigan, and all who enjoy the international riverfront that has consistently voted for the largest of its kind in the nation.

Today’s action is part of our focused, determined effort to secure the future of Detroit’s waterfront. We come out of this stronger.”

Ryan Sullivan, CEO of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy

Smith was sent on vacation and later dismissed as CFO after an independent audit and provision of financial statements to the board of the non-profit organization, which prompted the FBI investigation.

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