Former City of Atlanta Chief Financial Officer Jim Beard was sentenced Tuesday after pleading guilty earlier this year in federal court to charges of taking money from the city and falsely claiming tax deductions he was not eligible for.
A federal judge sentenced Beard to three years in prison, followed by three years of probation. Beard was also ordered to pay a fine of $10,000 and more than $170,000 in restitution.
Beard, who served as the city's CFO under former Mayor Kasim Reed from November 2011 to May 2018, was originally indicted by the federal government in 2020 on an eight-count indictment. The charges included "wire fraud, theft from the government, possession of machine guns, making a false statement, and obstructing federal tax laws."
In April, Beard entered into a negotiated plea deal, which dismissed most of the charges except for two: federal program theft and obstructing Internal Revenue Service laws.
Beard admitted to using a city-issued credit card, intended solely for business purposes, to obtain at least $5,000 for his own use. Federal documents outline several instances where Beard misused city resources:
- In 2015, Beard's city credit card paid for a three-night stay at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Chicago, totaling $1,278.72. Although Beard claimed the stay was for business, the room was booked for his stepdaughter, who attended the Lollapalooza music festival that weekend.
- Around March 30, 2016, Beard directed the city to issue a check for $2,641.90 to cover the cost of two custom-built machine guns, which he had ordered using his professional email. He falsely represented that the guns were for the Atlanta Police Department, but he possessed them until 2017.
- In April 2016, Beard used his city credit card to pay $648.20 for airfare to a jazz festival in New Orleans despite having no city business there. He later claimed to the IRS that the trip was for his consulting business and not reimbursed by the city.
- In June 2016, he kept over $1,000 in travel reimbursements to be returned to the city.
- Beard also falsely claimed $12,000 in tax deductions, which he was not eligible for due to false submissions and representations.
In court, Beard said he takes full responsibility for the "stupid" and short-sighted" actions.
"I stand before you a broken man," Beard told the judge, mentioning the projects he helped bring to Atlanta. "I just regret that I'll never be able to do this for any other city in need."
The judge lectured Beard on the responsibilities of a high-ranking position like the one he held, adding that public trust is a key factor that goes into those jobs.
Beard resigned when Keisha Lance Bottoms took over as mayor in early 2018, following her request that all cabinet members resign and reapply for their positions. Though Beard was not rehired, he was allowed to continue drawing his $274,000 salary while attending a six week taxpayer funded training class at Harvard University.
His tenure as CFO also included a scandal involving bonuses that Mayor Reed gave to his staff before leaving office. An Atlanta ethics report found Beard “abused his position to authorize a bonus payment for himself,” including a $15,000 bonus grossed up to $21,261. Beard admitted to this action in an interview with investigators.
“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,” U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan said in a news release. “Beard’s sentencing is a demonstration of our commitment to hold accountable public officials who trade their position of power for greed and personal gain.”
Beard will have to report to prison in the next one to two months. He asked to serve his sentence in Montgomery, so he can be close to family. That will be left up to the Bureau of Prisons to decide.