$100,000 Missing From Miami Chamber, Former VP Accused

Nearly $100,000 is missing from the Miami Chamber of Commerce, and now the former Vice President is accused of embezzlement. 38-year-old Brandy Smith was promoted to Vice President in 2017, placing her in charge of the company’s finances, and that’s when money started going missing.

According to court documents, Smith’s alleged scheme began to unravel earlier this summer when she resigned after she was confronted twice about misusing the Chamber’s credit card. She was questioned about using the company card to pay for a personal hotel stay. Smith claimed it was an accident because her own credit card looked nearly identical, but the same incident happened again just a week later.

Following the resignation, Shannon Epperson with the Miami Area Economic Development Service, was put in charge of payroll. Thinking something seemed fishy, the Miami Chamber had an outside audit performed and it was discovered Smith had allegedly given herself a nearly $10,000 unauthorized raise, while also embezzling an additional $54,000 on top of her $40,000 salary.

Smith turned herself into Miami Police this week. She is out on bond.