Former Atlanta chief financial officer pleads guilty to stealing money from city for trips and guns

ATLANTA (AP) — The previous main economical officer for Atlanta pleaded responsible on Monday to thieving dollars from the metropolis for personalized journey and guns and striving to cheat the federal government on his money taxes.

Jim Beard, 60, pleaded responsible to one particular depend of federal application theft and 1 rely of tax obstruction in federal courtroom in Atlanta.

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U.S. District Decide Steve Jones is scheduled to sentence Beard on July 12. Beard could face as a lot of as 13 many years in prison but is probable to be sentenced to considerably a lot less beneath federal recommendations.

Beard served as the city’s main economic officer underneath Mayor Kasim Reed, controlling Atlanta’s fiscal methods from 2011 to 2018. Beard is the 10th individual to be convicted in an anti-corruption probe into Reed’s administration. Most of the other individuals had been convicted on fees of giving or getting bribes for city contracts. Reed himself has in no way been billed.

All through his time in office environment, Beard made use of town revenue to spend for private visits and to illegally acquire two device guns for himself, he admitted in his plea arrangement.

Federal prosecutors mentioned Beard stole tens of 1000’s of bucks from the metropolis, whilst the plea outlined about $5,500 in thefts.

That incorporates expending around $1,200 for his stepdaughter to devote a few evenings in a Chicago hotel home through an August 2015 new music competition. Beard said he was there to go over interest fees on city credit card debt.

Beard also admitted to obtaining two custom-manufactured device guns from Ga producer Daniel Protection in 2015, paying $2,641.90 with a city check. Beard had claimed the guns ended up for the Atlanta Law enforcement Section — it’s frequently unlawful for civilians to possess machine guns in the United States — but he stored them till he still left them in 2017 at the police office office overseeing the mayor’s protection.

He also put in $648 on airfare to New Orleans to show up at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Competition in April 2016, later on deducting the same expenditure from his profits taxes by telling the IRS it was for his individual consulting small business. Beard also double-dipped by charging the city just about $1,000 in journey bills to a New York conference with a bond regulatory company and then obtaining the exact same company to reimburse him $1,276.52.

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Beard also claimed $33,000 in losses from his consulting business on his 2013 earnings tax return, with the IRS in the end making it possible for him to deduct $12,000 in small business travel fees he in no way invested.

Under the plea, Beard is giving up his claim to the guns and is agreeing to fork out back various entities which include the metropolis of Atlanta.