A former executive that worked for the Warner Music Group has been charged with embezzling more than $1 million from the label via a company credit card. Danielle D. Smith was in Manhattan courts Tuesday (February 4) and arraigned on charges of first-degree larceny.
The New York Post revealed how Smith, 45, allegedly used the company card to purchase non-business items between 2007 and 2011 before stepping down from her post at Atlantic Records in Los Angeles. The report has more.
From the Post:
Smith, who worked in the Los Angeles in the “urban” unit of Warner Music’s Atlantic Records division, allegedly used a corporate credit card to rack up $1.3 million in personal charges, prosecutors said.
Smith’s duties at Warner Music, headquartered in Manhattan, included scouting and signing artists, as well as arranging their travel and lodging, sources said.
But Smith also used her Warner Music credit card to fund a luxury lifestyle, sources said.
Prosecutors say Smith used the card to buy “luxury goods” and booked personal vacations and hotel stays on Warner’s dime without approval. After leaving Atlantic in 2011 amid an investigation of the credit card charges, Smith went on to raise thousands for President Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign.
Smith has pleaded not guilty to the charges. She is represented by Scott Leemon, who has worked with 50 Cent and Jim Jones.
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Photo: Gabriella Bass/New York Post
