Former Atlantic Chamber of Commerce Director Bailey Smith was sentenced on a pair of charges as part of a plea agreement Monday, August 17 in Cass County Court. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of Theft in the First Degree and one count of Unauthorized used of a Credit Card. In each case, Smith was sentenced to the maximum of ten years in prison with District Judge Margaret “Maggie” Reyes suspended the sentences which were to run concurrently. Instead, Reyes ordered Smith to serve five years probation and pay restitution, an amount that will be set at a later hearing.
During the proceeding, Chamber of Commerce President Anne Quist gave a victim impact statement outlining how she first discovered the financial irregularities.
Quist asked the judge not to issue a deferred judgement, in part, due to statements Smith has made since being fired.
Judge Reyes said that despite her youth and having no prior criminal history, she would not issue a deferred judgement because of the seriousness and length of the offenses.
The judge handed down the same sentence on the second charge as well.
Smith was terminated from the Chamber September 15, 2025. She turned herself in at the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on October 8, 2025 and was released on bond. According to the criminal complaint, between January 2020 and August 2025, Smith allegedly made 761 personal transactions with Chamber funds totaling $26,913.22, of which $6,632.38 was admitted by Smith. She was charged with Theft in the First Degree for allegedly misappropriating over $10,000.
The Criminal Complaint said Smith used Chamber-issued credit cards for approximately $25,065.71 in personal expenses, with $6,632.38 acknowledged by her in a letter to the Chamber Board. She was charged with Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card over $10,000.
