In a theft deemed “mind-boggling” by federal prosecutors, William A. Smith, the former chief financial officer of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, was sentenced to 19 years in federal prison April 24 for conducting a massive fraud involving the theft of $44.3 million that was supposed to go to revamping the city’s industrial riverfront. 

Smith, 52, also was ordered to pay $48 million in restitution, with $43 million going to the conservancy and $5 million to Citizens Bank.

U.S. District Judge Susan DeClercq delivered the sentence in the case that brought to light the long-operating theft and the lack of oversight of the non-profit that was formed to develop access to the Detroit Riverfront—envisioned as a continuous riverwalk from the Ambassador Bridge in the west to Gabriel Richard Park in the east, along with plazas, pavilions and green spaces. 

Smith was employed by the organization, which receives both private and public grant funding, from 2011 through May 2024. 

“Smith enjoyed substantial discretion in overseeing and managing the conservancy’s financial affairs,” court documents state. 

According to a plea agreement, between November 2012 and May 2024, Smith orchestrated the scheme that embezzled millions of Detroit Riverfront Conservancy dollars. 

Describing how Smith conducted the crime, court documents say that he diverted conservancy funds from the organization’s bank accounts to a bank account in the name of “the Joseph Group Inc.,” an entity he owned and controlled. The Joseph Group was not an approved vendor for the conservancy and provided no goods or services to the organization. However, between February 2013 and May 2024, Smith transferred approximately $24.4 million from the conservancy’s bank accounts to his. 

Smith also maintained an American Express account called “William Smith & Associates LLC,” and between November 2012 and May 2024, Smith used approximately $14.9 million in conservancy funds to pay off purchases made on this account. None of these expenditures were authorized by the conservancy and included furniture, designer clothing, handbags, lawn care services, airline tickets and other consumer goods and services for himself and his family.

Smith also used conservancy funds to purchase cashier’s checks from various financial institutions, which were then used for his own purposes and without knowledge or approval of the conservancy’s board of directors. Additionally, he took out a $5-million unauthorized line of credit to try to keep the scheme from being uncovered, according to the sentencing memo. 

“Smith’s gilded lifestyle came at the expense of the conservancy and its donors, who entrusted Smith with ensuring that the conservancy’s money was used for the purpose of enhancing the Detroit riverfront for the benefit of the city and the public,” the sentencing memo states.  

The memo adds that “Smith’s crimes were not the product of a momentary lapse of judgment—they went on for years and involved hundreds of discreet acts of deception.”

Following the sentence, the conservancy said in an email that it “will continue to pursue all criminal and civil court avenues to reclaim the assets he stole from this community.” 

“Smith did not simply steal money from a non-profit; he stole from volunteers and used that money for excess, flamboyance, and greed,” lawyer Matthew Schneider wrote on behalf of the conservancy in a letter to the judge.