Civil Suit: Detroit Riverfront Conservancy's ex-CFO enriched family members during embezzlement scheme

DETROIT (FOX 2) - The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has filed a civil suit against its former chief financial officer who allegedly stole nearly $40 million from the nonprofit, spending the funds on lavish properties and enriched members of his family.

WIll Smith's elaborate scheme in which he embezzled millions of dollars over a 12-year-old period required him concealing financial records, forging documents, and keeping accountants and the conservancy's board in the dark about where money was moving.

In addition to Smith, the civil suit filed by the conservancy names several other defendants that were involved in the scheme. They include a friend, identified as Darrell Greer, who allegedly purchased one of his rental properties in an effort to transfer assets purchased by Smith.

Also named in the suit is Smith's mom, his sister, and his wife. 

There were also three companies named in the filing, two owned by Smith and one by Greer.

"Our claims are that he stole approximately $40 million of the conservancy's money. Now, there are different legal words for this, like embezzlement or conversion. The bottom line in this claim, is he stole it," said Attorney Matthew Schneider, a lawyer with the business law firm Honigman retained by the conservancy.

Schneider said the extent of the theft isn't currently known and it's possible that Smith stole even more money from the nonprofit.

The alleged scheme operated between 2012 and 2024 and involved Smith moving money from the conservancy's primary account at Citizens Bank to it's lesser-used account at Comerica Bank. From there, he would wire funds directly out of Comerica to pay his American Express credit card. 

From there, the money would move to one of his businesses, which is identified as the Joseph Group. 

Smith was charged in federal court on June 5. 

A Wayne County circuit judge has ordered Smith's assets frozen while the case makes its way through court. The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy has sought to intervene in the case after Judge Linda Parker found the nonprofit and its donors were victims of fraud.

Currently, no one else at the conservancy is named in the suit as a co-conspirator. 

When did suspicions arise?

In March 2024, the accounting from Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) was hired by the conservancy to review bank records. They found almost $15 million in Amex Epayments from the nonprofits Comerica account between Nov. 2012 and March 2024.

Further interviews with the conservancy board's chairman and its staff accountant confirmed The Joseph Group - one of the companies set up by Smith - was not an approved vendor for the Detroit Riverfront Conservancy. 

However, PwC's review of transactions with The Joseph Group uncovered $24.4 million in wire transfers from the conservancy's Comerica bank account and the company. 

Additionally, Smith concealed the transactions by providing paper statements to a staff accountant, who worked directly under the ex-CFO. The employee was tasked with recording transactions in the conservancy's database. 

When the employee asked Smith for direct access to Comerica's online banking portal so she could pull statements directly, he would ignore her requests and instead only give her paper statements, the criminal complaint reads.

That way, he was the only individual with the password to the conservancy's banking portal.

The scheme began to unravel when on May 8, personnel at the conservancy discovered a $5 million line of credit with Citizens Bank - something that wouldn't have been necessary to pay the operating costs and project fees overseen by the conservancy.

An internal search of Smith's email server found messages between the ex-CFO and the vice president and relationship manager at Citizens Bank. It included the question "Do you have documentation that supports you as sole signer for all things related to financing?"

Smith responded two hours later with an attachment that had been signed by the corporation secretary in 2022. The signature was a forgery, interviews with the secretary by the FBI revealed.

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