Atlanta’s former chief financial officer gets 3 years in federal corruption probe

ATLANTA (AP) — A former top official during Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed’s administration was sentenced Tuesday to three years in prison under a federal corruption probe that ensnared nearly a dozen people on bribery or other related charges.

U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones also ordered Jimmie “Jim” A. Beard, 60, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term and pay restitution of $177,197 plus a $10,000 fine.

Prosecutors said Beard charged luxury trips to a city credit card, double-dipped on travel reimbursements, cheated on his taxes and used the auspices of the city police department to buy a pair of custom-built machine guns otherwise unavailable to civilians.

Jones said the city had entrusted Beard, who was Atlanta’s chief financial officer from 2011 to 2018, to safeguard its funds and ensure that taxpayer money benefitted taxpayers, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

By treating himself instead, the judge said, he’d sowed distrust in government.

“You were a steward,” Jones told Beard before adding: “There’s a trust factor that goes with holding these jobs.”

Beard pleaded guilty in April to diverting government funds and lying to the IRS. As part of a plea deal, six other counts, including possession of a machine gun, were dropped.

Before the sentence was handed down, Beard described his actions as “stupid” and short-sighted,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

“I stand before you today a broken man,” Beard said, adding that he was not sure how he’d rebuild himself.

Beard could have faced a prison term of up to 13 years, but federal sentencing guidelines recommended a sentence of up to three years and five months, according to the government’s pre-sentencing investigation.

“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 statement. “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.”

At least five defendants in the corruption probe received prison terms longer than Beard’s, including former human services director Mitzi Bickers, watershed commissioner Jo Ann Macrina and contractors Jeff Jafari and Elvin R. Mitchell Jr.