Former Atlanta CFO sentenced to three years in prison after city hall scandal

ATLANTA — A former Atlanta chief financial officer is going to prison.

A federal court judge sentenced Jim Beard to three years behind bars for stealing from taxpayers and making unauthorized tax deductions.

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The sentencing is a culmination of years of investigations by Channel 2 Action News, dating back to 2018.

Channel 2 Investigative reporter Sophia Choi was there as the 60-year-old said, “I stand before you a broken man”, before his sentencing in downtown Atlanta.

Beard served as Atlanta’s CFO between 2011 and 2018, under former Mayor Kasim Reed and for a few months, under former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

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He reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors in April.

A Channel 2 Action News investigation found Beard spent tax dollars on a lavish trip to Paris with his wife, high-powered guns including two semi-automatic rifles and hotel rooms for family members.

According to the Department of Justice, in total, Beard stole at least tens of thousands of dollars from the City. By way of example only:

• In the summers of 2015 and 2016, Beard charged nearly $4,000 to the City for weekend stays at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Chicago, Illinois. However, Beard was not in Chicago those weekends and the hotel rooms were actually for his stepdaughter to attend the Lollapalooza music festival.
• In December 2015, Beard ordered two custom-built machine guns using a purchase order and a $2,641.90 check from the city, telling the manufacturer that the machine guns were for the exclusive use of the Atlanta Police Department (“APD”) – even though Beard took the guns to his own home and APD had no knowledge of them.
• In April 2016, Beard charged more than $2,600 to the City for airfare and hotels for two-weekend trips to the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. Beard had no city business in New Orleans during either trip and took his wife one of the weekends and a different personal companion the other.
• In June 2016, Beard charged $975.52 to the city for travel to Washington, D.C. for a meeting with the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (“MSRB”). Even though Beard had the city pay for this travel, Beard asked the MSRB to reimburse him personally for these costs and submitted copies of his receipts to the MSRB. As a result, the MSRB issued a check to Beard, which he kept and deposited into his personal bank account.
• In April 2017, Beard charged more than $10,000 to the City for a four-day stay for him and his wife at the Shangri-La Hotel in Paris, in a deluxe suite with a view of the Eiffel Tower.

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He is one of at least seven former city employees and contractors who either pleaded guilty or were found guilty of bribery and theft-related charges.

Along with his prison time, Beard must pay a $10,000 fine and $177,197.48 in restitution.

The judge is allowing him to turn himself into prison when it’s time.

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