Detroit Riverfront Conservancy files suit against former CFO, family for alleged lavish spending in $40 million theft case
(CBS DETROIT) – The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has filed a lawsuit against its former CFO William Smith – along with his wife, mother, sister and a friend – to reclaim $40 million that was stolen.
The lawsuit, filed by former U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider of Honigman Law Firm, outlines a scheme in which Smith allegedly embezzled about $40 million from the nonprofit from November 2012 to March 2024. He was fired in May as the FBI began investigating the case.
According to a release from the Conservancy, his mother Charlotte Smith, wife Kimberly Smith, and sister Jennifer Smith, are accused of "spending lavishly" with Conservancy money on "high-end interior design goods, beauty supplies, shoes, restaurant meals, and assorted other luxuries."
According to the suit, William Smith's close friend, Darrell Greer, who was named, allegedly tried to help him hide assets from authorities once the scheme was discovered. Before the scheme was made public, he allegedly accepted the transfer of a home in Detroit from William Smith.
Two companies that William Smith owned are named in the suit – William Smith & Associates LLC and The Joseph Group – along with one owned by Greer, You Services LLC., which had provided construction management services to the nonprofit.
"On behalf of our vast community of Riverwalk lovers, we are seeking and seizing every stolen dollar possible from Smith and his co-conspirators," said Conservancy Board Chair Matt Cullen in the release. "From the moment this scheme was discovered, we promised to investigate what happened, fix it, and make sure it can never happen again. The sweeping federal criminal investigation initiated by the Conservancy, together with the civil lawsuit filed today, represents another important step towards realizing those goals. Our investigation continues."
This comes after William Smith was charged with bank and wire fraud last month for allegedly using Conservancy funds to pay charges that his family members had accrued, and diverting the funds to The Joseph Group, which is a company that he controlled.
"By falsifying bank records, fraudulently misrepresenting his authority, transferring DRFC finances into his own personal bank account, diverting additional funds to pay his own personal credit card and that of some of the other named defendants, and enlisting the other named defendants to help Smith advance or cover up his scheme," the suit says, "Smith stole approximately $40 million from the DRFC."