ATLANTIC, Iowa — The former Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Bailey Smith was arrested on a warrant for several theft charges after records state she misallocated funds from the chamber.

Bailey Linn Smith, 33, turned herself into the Cass County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday who had a warrant for the following charges:

• Ongoing Criminal Conduct – Unlawful Activity
• Fraudulent Practice 1st Degree
• Theft 1st Degree
• Unauthorized Use of a Credit Card Over $10,000

Court documents state that between January 2020 and August 2025, while serving as the Executive Director of the Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce, Smith made approximately 761 personal transactions with chamber funds. These transactions reportedly totaled $26,913 of losses to the chamber. Smith allegedly admitted to $6,632 of theft to the chamber board in a letter, court records show.

Between the dates of November 2022 and August 2025, Smith began knowingly making entries into the record of the chamber that she knew were false to make the chamber general account appear solvent and to pay bills that should have been paid with funds that were misappropriated, to allegedly cover her theft of chamber funds, court documents state.

According to court records during this time period Bailey made approximately 47 bank transfers between the chamber’s four bank accounts which totaled approximately $76,215.

Bailey reportedly admitted in a letter to the chamber board that she had transferred money from the chamber RAGBRAI account and that it had not been “moved back to where it belonged” and that the money “should have never been moved in the first place,” court documents state.

The Atlantic Chamber of Commerce shared on Wednesday that Smith had been placed on unpaid administrative leave August 29, 2025, due to concerns over financial matters. An internal review was conducted and, on September 15, 2025, the board says they terminated Smith’s employment. The following statement was shared in their release on Wednesday.

“Our duty as a Board is to protect the Chamber and act in the best interests of our members and community,” said Board President Anne Quist. “We took immediate action to address concerns, completed a thorough review, and have acted promptly to ensure the integrity and stability of the organization moving forward.”

The Atlantic Area Chamber of Commerce says they have cooperated with law enforcement throughout the process and that all further proceedings are being handled by law enforcement. In the statement they shared that they would not be commenting further while the legal process is ongoing.

According to Smith’s LinkedIn account, she began serving as Executive Director for the board in 2017 and had previously worked for Atlantic as a program director from 2015 to 2017. The account sates Smith also served as an intern for the Cass County Extension Office during 2013.

Smith was booked into the Cass County Jail on Wednesday on a $100,000 cash surety. Smith later bonded out and is set to appear in court on October 14.