A former official with a non-profit St. Louis circus has pled guilty to embezzling over $123,000, admitting to a scheme that involved misuse of credit cards and diverting circus funds to his personal use. George S. Pace, a 63-year-old resident of Ladue, Missourri, entered his plea in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, facing four counts of wire fraud spanning from December 2022 to at least September 2023, according to information obtained from a U.S. Department of Justice announcement.
In court, Pace confessed to using a credit card he secured without permission to shamelessly cover personal expenses, including various indulgences at nail salons and skin care treatments. He doubled down with a second card to fund more unauthorized outgoings, such as horseback riding activities. When caught, Pace attempted to deceitfully convince another circus official the card was stolen, going so far as to produce forged account statements falsely indicating that he had resolved the expenses.
Furthermore, rather than using it to pay down a line of credit as intended, Pace embezzled checks from the circus' bank account, directly pocketing the money for himself. This diversion of funds led the circus to accumulate significant amounts of unnecessary interest. He also went as far to deposit donor checks, meant for the circus, into his own personal bank account. Over $123,015.94 was stolen through his fraudulent activities.
Pace also admitted to having fraudulently applied for two U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance Loans, totaling $29,400, which were luckily denied. He is now scheduled to be sentenced on May 4. The charges he faces could result to up to 20 years in prison, with potential fines of $250,000 for each count of wire fraud. The FBI and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll investigated and prosecuted the case, respectively.
