Detroit Riverfront ex-CFO says $3K monthly allowance isn't enough as assets remain frozen

The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy’s ex-CFO has been permitted several thousand dollars a month for living expenses, while his other assets remain frozen amid charges that he stole $40 million from the nonprofit.

The Tuesday court order allowing William Smith $3,421 per month is based on IRS collection standards totaling the allowable expenses for food, housing, utility and other needs, plus Smith’s stated monthly income of $3,450 from a rental property, the filing says. The order also extends a federal judge’s decision to bar Smith from accessing up to $39.3 million in assets through at least Aug. 29.

Smith, 51, believes the allowance is not enough to pay his family’s “necessary and reasonable” needs and expenses, the order said, while leaving open the option to adjust the amount based on future review.

He has a wife and no children under the age of 18, according to prosecutors and a 2022 divorce filing that was later dismissed.

Prosecutors have accused Smith of embezzling from the nonprofit to support his lavish lifestyle, citing spending on air travel, hotels, limos, clothes, jewelry and more. Nearly $15 million of allegedly stolen Conservancy funds went to cover credit card charges made by him and his family members from 2012 through 2024, including a $17,500 purchase at Louis Vuitton, federal investigators said.

Smith was charged with wire and bank fraud June 5. 

Judge Linda Parker originally barred the former CFO from his assets on June 22, following a request from federal prosecutors who alleged he’d begun selling or attempting to sell properties and other items since coming under investigation.

Smith owns numerous homes — in Mexico, Georgia, Texas and Michigan — as well as a small yacht, prosecutors said. Parker has allowed his assets to be put up for sale so long as the money is used to pay back his alleged victims.

The latest court order comes a day after nonprofit lender Invest Detroit announced it would potentially foreclose on a failed Smith business for which it approved $3 million in loans.

The Free Press reported in June that experts said the loans represented a potential conflict for Smith and a missed opportunity for those tasked with holding him accountable to scrutinize his business activity.

Invest Detroit and the conservancy share a board chair in Matt Cullen; Invest Detroit CEO Dave Blaskiewicz is also a board member at the conservancy; and Smith was a member of Invest Detroit’s advisory committee, according to a statement issued this week by Blaskiewicz.

Invest Detroit identified “no issues” in awarding Smith millions for a RiverWalk-adjacent Cigar Bar called “Discretion,” and the conservancy found no potential conflicts after hiring a lawyer to review the deal, the Monday statement said.

The advisory committee Smith belonged to, meanwhile, “did not review or opine" on the loans to Smith, the statement said.

The lender whose mission is to provide funding to underserved communities and businesses said it approved two loans for Smith, one for the $600,000 purchase of a Woodbridge Street carriage house and predevelopment costs, and another for $2.4 million in construction costs. The second loan was not disbursed, as construction never began on the project, Blaskiewicz said.

Violet Ikonomova is an investigative reporter at the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Riverfront ex-CFO William Smith: $3K allowance isn't enough