(Atlantic) A trial date has been set for the former Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, Bailey Smith, who is charged with Ongoing Criminal Conduct – Unlawful Activity, Fraudulent Practice 1st Degree, Theft 1st Degree, and Unauthorized Use of Credit Card Over $10,000.
According to court records, the trial is scheduled for January 27th at 9:30 a.m. An arraignment date is set for December 8th at 9:00 a.m., and a pre-trial conference is scheduled for January 12th at 9:00 a.m.
On September 17th, the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors announced that Bailey Smith was no longer employed with the organization as of September 15. Smith turned herself in to the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on October 8th on a warrant for the above charges. She was later released on bond.
According to the complaint and affidavit, between the dates of approximately January 1, 2020, and August 31, 2025, Smith, acting as the Executive Director, conducted approximately 761 personal transactions with Chamber funds for approximately $26,913.22 total loss to the Chamber, $6,632.38 of which Smith admitted in a letter to the Chamber Board. She was charged with Theft 1st Degree for misappropriating funds belonging to the Chamber with a value exceeding $10,000.
Between the dates of approximately November 14, 2022, and August 6, 2025, Smith, acting as the Executive Director, entered into a scheme where she began making transfers between other Atlantic Chamber of Commerce bank accounts to fraudulently make the Chamber general account appear solvent and cover up her theft and to pay bills for the Chamber that should have been paid with the funds that were stolen. Smith was charged with Fraudulent Practice 1st Degree. Smith made approximately 47 bank transfers between the four Chamber bank accounts for a total of $76,215 of money moved in a fraud scheme to cover up her theft of chamber funds, in which Smith admitted in a letter to the Chamber Board to transferring money from the RAGBRAI account, not getting it “moved back where it belonged”, and made a statement that “it should have never been moved in the first place”. Therefore, Smith was charged with Ongoing Criminal Conduct – Unlawful Activity.
Smith conducted approximately 748 personal transactions with credit cards issued to her for Chamber business for approximately $25,065.71 of total loss to the Chamber, $6,632.38 which was admitted in the letter to the Chamber Board. The use of the credit card was unauthorized by any use besides Chamber business and Smith knowingly used the cards for personal, unauthorized activity. Therefore, she was charged with Unauthorized use of a Credit Card over $10,000.
