Jim Beard, Atlanta's former Chief Financial Officer, was sentenced to three years in prison for misusing government funds for personal luxuries like hotel stays and machine guns. He will also serve three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Beard's fraud, which occurred from November 2011 to May 2018 while he was CFO, resulted in a $10,000 fine and $177,197.48 in restitution. Convicted on April 8 after pleading guilty, Beard betrayed Atlanta residents by using city funds for lavish hotel stays and reimbursing himself for expenses that were already covered.
U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan condemned Beard's actions, saying, "Jim Beard abused the trust and confidence placed in him by the people of the City of Atlanta when he decided to steal tens of thousands of dollars from taxpayers to support his lavish lifestyle." Buchanan emphasized the commitment to hold public officials accountable for using their office for personal gain, as stated in the official press release of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
Beard's illegal actions included nearly $4,000 for hotel stays at Lollapalooza for his stepdaughter, two custom-made machine guns falsely claimed to be for the police, flights and hotels for the New Orleans Jazz Festival with no city business, and a luxury Paris hotel suite. His downfall was due to a culture where staff processed these expenses without proper documentation.
Special Agent in Charge Keri Farley stated, "Public corruption is one of the FBI’s top priorities and we continue to work to protect citizens against officials who abuse that trust," on the same press release by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
