Former Detroit CFO Takes Accountability With His 19-Year Prison Sentence

Before his sentencing, Smith stood before the court to read a statement of remorse, calling his moves selfish.

Just days after officials from Detroit Riverfront Conservancy requested that former chief financial officer William Smith receive the maximum 20-year sentence for what prosecutors called one of the largest and most expensive criminal schemes in Detroit’s history, the judge handed him a 19-year sentence, the Detroit Free Press reports.

U.S. District Court Judge Susan DeClercq ordered Smith, 52, to serve 19 years in federal prison on April 24 and pay $48.1 million in restitution. The payment will be split between $43.1 million to the conservancy and $5 million to Citizens Bank. Before his sentencing, Smith stood before the court to read a statement of remorse, calling his moves selfish. “My actions were wrong, plain and simple,” he said.

“I recognize I allowed selfishness, pride and poor judgment to lead me down a destructive path.”

Smith will be allowed to stay out on bond until his time to self-report to prison.

The former nonprofit leader pled guilty in late 2024 to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering for a massive scheme that expanded for more than a decade right under the noses of some of the city’s most powerful business and government leaders. Conservancy officials called the ex-CFO scheme “truly evil” and said it diminished the nonprofit’s reputation. Smith continued his prepared remarks, stating, “Someday I hope to be able to earn back the trust that I lost and make a meaningful contribution to the riverfront.”

That is what conservancy officials hoped for the nonprofit with a maximum 20-year sentence, helping to rebuild faith and community trust. “We are emerging from this episode with a bright future,” conservancy CEO Ryan Sullivan said in a statement.

Prosecutors pushed for an 18-year sentence, while Smith’s legal team hoped for 12½ to 15½ years. However, DeClercq correlated Smith’s scheme with the city’s decline and post-bankruptcy rebound. “You stole from an organization dedicated to serving a city that had already felt the sting of corruption and the loss of jobs, people, and businesses,” the judge said.

“Detroit’s nonprofit community will be feeling this loss for a long time.”

She continued to point out that donations submitted to assist the nonprofit recover stolen funds “had to be diverted from other nonprofits and initiatives.”

Following Smith’s sentencing, according to CBS News, the conservancy released a statement on its former employee’s sentencing, saying, “We move forward to a bright future” and thanking Judge DeClercq. “The U.S. government accurately described him as a man of ‘corrupt and depraved character’ who, through a complex web of deception, stole millions of dollars from an institution responsible for leading the revival of Detroit’s riverfront from an industrial wasteland to being voted the best riverwalk for three consecutive years,” the statement read.

“The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy will continue to pursue all criminal and civil court avenues to reclaim assets he stole from this community. Meanwhile, our focus is on an exciting series of developments as we secure the future of the nation’s greatest riverwalk.”