Here Are the Steps This Detroit Nonprofit Exec Allegedly Took to Steal $40 Million
Now that he's about to be sentenced for his crimes, let's take a look at all the tea.
Federal prosecutors accuse Smith, 52, of using his nonprofit to embezzle over $40 million dollars since 2003, per court documents. They say he finessed the organization's bank account when funds were low by taking out a line of credit on the org's behalf. The Feds say he claimed to get permission from the board to proceed with said action.
However, prosecutors said he did not have permission nor did he have valid documents to provide to the bank. Instead, they claim Smith forged the documents he provided.
From there, Smith is accused of taking the money from that credit line and funneling it to the organization's bank account to cover up his embezzlement. To keep his movements on the low, prosecutors say he would conceal the source of the funds or what they were being used for.
For example, he once funneled over $98,000 from the organization's bank to Comerica Bank to The Joseph Group's account at Bank of America. He then did another complex transfer to TBE Food Group's account from which he funneled funds directly to his personal bank account.
You must be wondering what he spent the money on. Chile, everything. According to prosecutors:
He bought a home in Texas for an unspecified amount.
He chartered a private yacht for a weeklong Mediterranean cruise for $100,000.
He bought over $500,000 in Gucci and Louis Vuitton merchandise.
He dropped $54,000 at a jewelry store.
He spent over $500,000 for Detroit Pistons Games. Floor seats, of course.
He dropped $45,000 on a high-end experience at a Detroit Lions game in Los Angeles featuring a private suite, access to the stadium's restaurants and a stay at a boutique hotel.
He booked a trip to Las Vegas, staying at the Cromwell Hotel and spent $8,000 at Drais Rooftop, $5,000 at Drais Beach Club and $94,000 on a private jet.
He booked a slew of airline tickets totaling over $94,000.
He put down nearly $60,000 for a wedding venue.
Oh! And he allegedly paid off his American Express bills which totaled up to $14 million from November 2012 to March 2024, prosecutors said.
During a board meeting in March 2024, Smith was confronted about the organization's financial status, per ClickonDetroit. Suddenly, a month later, he took a leave of absence for a physical illness. While he was gone, the report says the board hired a third-party to investigate the organization's finances. By May, Smith was suspended and reported to the police for fraud.
On June 4, 2024, Smith was charged with wire fraud and money laundering, the report says. In November, he pleaded guilty to one count of each. He's set to be sentenced on April 24. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison. However, prosecutors requested 18 years.
Ahead of the hearing, Smith filed an apology saying he was 'ashamed' and 'extremely remorseful' about his scheme, per Axios Detroit.
For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
17 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Raiders' Smith and Crosby make obscene gestures toward Seahawks fans
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) — Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Geno Smith and defensive end Maxx Crosby were captured on videos making obscene gestures toward Seattle Seahawks fans as they entered the field before their preseason game Thursday night. Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was fined $10,128 for making a similar gesture to Green Bay Packers fans last November, according to Pro Football Talk. Several videos of the actions by Smith and Crosby made the rounds on social media Friday. One video showed the team gathered as it was ready to enter the field. Crosby is seen bouncing on his feet and appears to be talking to fans and tries to grab a sign. Then Smith joins Crosby in jumping up and down and looks in the direction of those fans. As the team begins to run onto the field, Smith makes an obscene gesture to the fans with Crosby immediately following with his own. At least one fan appeared to be taunting the players before the gestures were made. The then-Oakland Raiders drafted Russell first overall in 2007, but he went 7-18 as the starting quarterback played only three seasons. Smith was the Seahawks' starter the past three seasons before failing to come to terms on a new deal. He followed his former coach, Pete Carroll, when the Raiders traded for him. Thursday's game ended 23-23. ___
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Yahoo
Oregon Government Ethics Commission opens third investigation in 2025 for state lawmaker
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission on Aug. 8 launched an investigation into whether state Rep. Greg Smith, R-Heppner, violated state law regarding the reporting of income sources, marking the third probe into potential violations by Smith in recent months. The commission voted unanimously to open an investigation into whether Smith violated state laws when he failed to disclose income from the Morrow Development Corporation in his 2024 and 2025 Statements of Economic Interest. Smith did not appear or speak during the meeting and did not immediately respond to a request for comment. He has been a representative of Oregon's House District 57 since 2001. The district includes Umatilla, Morrow, Gilliam, Sherman, Wheeler, Wasco, Jefferson, Marion and Clackamas counties. State Rep. Greg Smith failed to disclose client, preliminary review says Public officials must list in their annual disclosure statements the name, principal address and a brief description of any source of income that accounts for 10% or more of their household's total annual income. As of 2024, they are also required to list additional information about sources of income for listed businesses. They are required to list clients who contribute 10% or more of the business's gross annual income and have a legislative or administrative interest in the public body that the public official serves. A complaint alleged that Smith's income from the Morrow Development Corporation meets the criteria and should have been reported. According to the preliminary review report, Smith confirmed MDC does contribute more than 10% of income for Gregory Smith & Company, LLC, which is focused on business development. The report added that because the Morrow Development Corporation is registered to do and does business in Oregon, it appears to have a legislative or administrative interest in the Legislature. The investigator said Smith contended, however, that he had called OGEC for advice this year regarding whether he needed to report the income from MDC. The investigator said the call included "a couple" of different topics related to the SEI filing and that she could not recall if Smith inquired specifically about MDC. "Still, due to the failure to disclose Morrow Development Corporation on both his 2024 and 2025 SCI, there is a substantial objective basis to believe that Representative Smith failed to report a client that constitutes 10% or more of his business's income and has a legislative or administrative interest," investigator Casey Fenstermaker said. Both filings have been amended to include MDC as of Aug. 8. OGEC opened investigations into state Rep. Greg Smith earlier in 2025 The Aug. 8 vote is not the first time the ethics commission has taken action related to Smith in 2025. On June 13, the commission opened an investigation into Smith's role as executive director of the Columbia Development Authority. Commissioners are investigating whether Smith improperly used his position when he received a pay raise from $129,000 to $195,000 and failed to disclose an apparent conflict of interest in the process. The pay raise was later reversed, according to reporting from the Malheur Enterprise. Smith also received a letter of education in lieu of a financial penalty in March for another investigation the commission had opened on Jan. 24. The commission investigated Smith's failure to list Harney County as a source of income for his business, even though Harney County contributed more than 10% of the business' gross annual income and has a legislative or administrative interest in his decisions or votes as a representative. The actions described constitute one violation of state ethics law, the commission's final order said. In addition to the ethics cases, Smith is also a defendant in a $6.9 million lawsuit filed in July by Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield against a group of Morrow County officials. The lawsuit alleges eight officials, including Smith, abused their positions as board members of a nonprofit named Inland Development Corp. when it sold a for-profit subsidiary, Windwave Communications, to themselves. The lawsuit claims Windwave was valued at $9.5 million but was purchased for $2.6 million. "These were people in power who knew that Windwave was about to explode in value—and instead of protecting the public's interest, they cashed in," said Rayfield in a July 15 press release. Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at dlugo@ or on X @DianneLugo. This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Oregon Government Ethics Commission investigating Rep. Greg Smith Solve the daily Crossword
Boston Globe
a day ago
- Boston Globe
RI federal judge blocks Trump administration's restrictions on grants from Office on Violence Against Women
Advertisement A group of 17 state coalitions, led by the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, filed a lawsuit in June in US District Court in Rhode Island against US Attorney General Pamela Bondi, the Department of Justice, and the acting director of the Office on Violence Against Women. Get Rhode Map A weekday briefing from veteran Rhode Island reporters, focused on the things that matter most in the Ocean State. Enter Email Sign Up They argued that the restrictions were unlawful and that the administration had overstepped its authority and violated the statutory requirements in the After hearing arguments on July 29, US District Court Judge William E. Smith issued his decision Friday, siding with the Coalition that the restrictions ran afoul of the prohibition against 'arbitrary and capricious' actions by the federal agency. Advertisement Smith decided that the coalition was likely to succeed in its lawsuit finding that the new restrictions violated the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal law that governs how agencies develop regulations. He wrote that he found that the federal Office's decision to impose those conditions was 'in such a vague and haphazard manner to be arbitrary, capricious, and an abuse of discretion.' Smith criticized the process that the Office used as 'wholly under-reasoned and arbitrary.' He noted that the federal office provided 'a single declaration' from a supervisory official as the basis for its decisions. The judge was unimpressed. He wrote that the office couldn't 'plausibly claim' that it examined any relevant data and that it 'completely failed to consider' the impacts of its decisions. Smith also looked at the coalitions' fears and confusion over what the changes in the grants would mean for their work. For one thing, many who provide services to victims who are transgender questioned whether they would be permitted to provide the same quality of services — even using their preferred pronouns and training staff on serving people who are transgender or binary. And some also feared they wouldn't be able to give victims of sexual assault and domestic violence any options other than reaching out to law enforcement, which not all victims are prepared to do. Smith wrote that the coalitions were faced with a difficult choice: If they accepted the grants with the new conditions, it would require them to guess what 'formerly unobjectionable activities' were now not allowed, and therefore risk prosecution under the False Claims Act. Without the money, though, the organizations couldn't do their work. Advertisement The coalitions applauded the judge's order. 'This order is a critical step toward protecting survivors and ensuring that communities across the country can continue to provide the services Congress mandated,' the Coalition said in a statement. 'The administration's attempt to politicize essential funding that supports survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault was not just unlawful, it was cruel. We will continue to be alongside survivors in fighting for justice and accountability.' The Violence Against Women Act, which passed in 1994, specifically addressed concerns about incidents of violent crimes against women such as domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and dating violence. In May, the office issued new restrictions on the grants, with a list of new categories that the money couldn't be used for. Those included: to promote or facilitate 'the violation of federal immigrations law,' promote 'gender ideology,' promote 'discriminatory programs or ideology' including 'illegal ... diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility' programs, and also any activities that 'frame domestic violence or sexual assault as systemic social justice issues rather than criminal offenses.' In June, the office required all grant applicants to submit a letter certifying the grants wouldn't be used for those out-of-scope activities. It also required that all award recipients certify that they do not 'operate any programs (including any such programs having components relating to diversity, equity, and inclusion) that violate any applicable federal civil rights or nondiscrimination laws.' The Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, which includes 10 member agencies, has an annual budget is about $5.3 million, with about $1 million in grants from the Office on Violence Against Women. The other groups in the lawsuit include: the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence, Colorado Coalition Against Sexual Assault, DC Coalition Against Domestic Violence, End Domestic Abuse Wisconsin: The Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Idaho Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, Iowa Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Jane Doe Inc. (the Massachusetts Coalition Against Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence), Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence, ValorUS, Violence Free Minnesota, Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, and the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault. Advertisement Amanda Milkovits can be reached at
