Over the course of more than a decade, Smith allegedly shepherded millions in donations earmarked to revamp the riverfront to instead enrich himself. Federal prosecutors also filed a criminal complaint, which was unsealed in June against Sharpe raising the stakes of his case.
As Conserving Efforts, Funds Stolen from.foundation
The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy is actively pursuing litigation to recoup the almost $40 million which Smith purportedly embezzled. The conservancy’s participation in the federal case is an effort to make sure that whatever comes out of both civil and criminal proceedings exonerates it from activities with which its leaders were not involved.
The conservancy’s state court lawsuit, Detroit Riverfront Conservancy Inc. v. William Smith et al., is ongoing in Wayne County Circuit Court while the federal civil and criminal cases proceed in U.S District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
