Former nonprofit CEO Bill Davis pleaded guilty Thursday to 16 counts of theft and fraud for misspending hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to help low-income people.
Davis, the former head of Community Action of Minneapolis, had been set to face trial next week on federal charges of spending thousands of dollars in taxpayer money on lavish trips, cars and other personal items.
The government made no plea agreement with Davis, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Svendsen. He will remain free until he is sentenced at a later date.
In U.S. District Court in Minneapolis, Judge Patrick Schiltz asked defense attorney Susan Gaertner to walk Davis through the allegations.
Davis admitted that he had attended a wedding with Community Action funds, paying for a hotel and meals and other expenditures.
"Did you also use the Community Action credit card for a trip to Bahamas in January [2012]?" Gaertner asked.
Davis said yes.
Davis said that he took his fiancée, Patricia Banks, on the trip, which purportedly was connected with a Ben & Jerry's ice cream shop run by Community Action, even though the shop had closed in 2010. When questioned about the trip by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), Davis said that he replied that he was required to go, when actually he had arranged to be invited.