The former Chief Financial Officer for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy was officially charged today.
William A. Smith, 51, faces charges of Bank Fraud and Wire Fraud in a criminal complaint unsealed in federal court.The charges arose out of what is alleged to be a years-long scheme by Smith to embezzle Conservancy funds for his own use.
According to court documents, The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy (DRFC, or the Conservancy) is a 501(c)(3) organization formed with the mission of developing access to the Detroit International
Riverfront from the Ambassador Bridge to Belle Isle. The DRFC is funded by a combination of public and private funds. Smith was the CFO of the DRFC from 2011 until he was fired late last month.
According to the Complaint, beginning as early as November 2012, Smith orchestrated a scheme to embezzle millions of dollars in funds belonging to the DRFC. The Complaint alleges that Smith carried out his embezzlement scheme in two distinct ways. First, Smith is alleged to have used
Conservancy funds to pay for charges that he and his family accrued on an American Express account.
Second, Smith is alleged to have diverted Conservancy funds to a company he controlled called “The Joseph Group.” Neither of these sets of expenditures were authorized or approved by the Board of the DRFC; “The Joseph Group,” was not an approved vendor and provided no services to the DRFC, and Smith had no authority to use Conservancy funds to pay his own personal credit card bills, prosecutors said.
The complaint alleges that, between November 2012 and March 2024, Smith stole nearly $40 million from the DRFC through these two embezzlement streams. To cover up his embezzlement, the Complaint alleges that Smith doctored bank statements provided to the Conservancy’s accountant for entry into the DRFC’s accounting software.
According to the complaint, Smith made purchases for items such as men’s clothing like Louis Vuitton, jewelry, cars and more.
“These false bank statements led to financial information being entered into the DRFC’s books, thereby concealing the fraud. In 2023, Smith is alleged to have obtained a $5 million line of credit with Citizens Bank on the Conservancy’s behalf – a line of credit he was not in any way authorized to take out. The Bank asked Smith for documentation confirming that Smith, as CFO, had the sole authority to obtain such a line of credit on behalf of the Conservancy. Smith is alleged to have provided the bank with a document purporting to establish that Smith was indeed empowered by the DRFC Board of Directors to obtain such credit lines. That document, according to the complaint, was false, and bore the forged signature of the Conservancy’s Corporation Secretary. Smith is alleged to have used funds he obtained from this line of credit to further his embezzlement scheme,” federal prosecutors said in a news release.
