Ex-CFO Sentenced For Stealing More Than $40M From Detroit Non-Profit

DETROIT — A former Detroit non-profit chief financial officer was sentenced to prison Thursday for stealing more than $40 million from the organization during a years-long scheme.

William Smith, 52, of Novi, was sentenced to 19 years in prison Thursday. The sentencing comes after the ex-chief financial officer pleaded guilty last year to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering. He faced a maximum of 20 years in prison.

A judge also ordered him to pay roughly $44.3 million in restitution.

"William Smith stole an astonishing amount of money from an important community institution, and he spent that money to finance an extravagant lifestyle," Acting United States United States Attorney Julie Beck said. "Every dollar that Smith spent on luxury goods for himself is a dollar that the Conservancy could not spent beautifying and improving our city’s riverfront. This is one of the most egregious economic crimes in recent memory in this District."

Prosecutors said the scheme started as early as November 2012, just one year after Smith began serving as the chief financial officer of the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. The organization aims to help develop access to the Detroit International Riverfront from the Ambassador Bridge to Belle Isle. It is funded through private donors and public grants.

Prosecutors said Smith stole the money in three distinct ways: First, he used the organization's money to pay for charges that he and his family accrued on an American Express account. Second, he diverted organizational funds to a company he controlled called "The Joseph Group." Third, he used the non-profit's funds to buy cashier’s checks from various financial institutions and used those checks for his own purposes.

The funds were not authorized or approved by the board, and Smith had no authority to use the funds to pay his own credit card bills, prosecutors said.

He also used the money to buy airline tickets, hotels, limousines, household goods, lawn care, clothing and jewelry, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Smith doctored bank statements to try and cover up the scheme. The statements led to erroneous financial information being entered into the Riverfront Conservancy's books, which concealed the fraud, prosecutors said.

In March 2024, Conservancy leaders confronted Smith as concerns grew about the nonprofit’s financial condition. The FBI then launched an investigation and the group fired Smith in May 2024.

The Conservancy also included many victim impact statements from the group's volunteers, board members, donors and employees.