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CFO William Smith
Federal prosecutors have filed papers indicating that ex-Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Chief Financial Officer William Smith will plead guilty to wire fraud and money laundering in a scandal in which he's accused of embezzling roughly $40 million dollars from the n nonprofit over several years.
The U.S. Attorney's Office filed an eight-page "criminal information" with updated charges on Tuesday, which normally means that a guilty plea is imminent. He will be arraigned on those charges on Thursday.
Robert Snell of the Detroit News first reported the story of the plea.
In June, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed a criminal complaint charging Smith, 51, with allegedly embezzling nearly $40 million in public and private funds in a scheme between November 2012 and March 2024.
An FBI agent's court affidavit alleged that Smith spent money on purchasing items for himself and other including airline tickets and pricey jewelry and clothing.
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to develop access to the Detroit International Riverfront from the Ambassador Bridge to Belle Isle. Smith, who lives in Novi, was the CFO of the DRFC from 2011 until his firing earlier this year.
