Former St. Louis Circus Official Accused of Embezzlement

ST. LOUIS - A former official with a St. Louis-based non-profit circus was indicted Wednesday and accused of embezzling over $120,000 in three ways from December 2022 through at least September 2023.

George S. Pace, 61, of Ladue, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on six felony counts of wire fraud. The indictment accuses Pace of using two credit cards that he'd surreptitiously obtained to charge thousands of dollars in unauthorized personal purchases, including in restaurants and for horseback riding-related expenses. Pace was not authorized to have a circus credit card. When asked about the charges, Pace falsely claimed that the card had been stolen and that he'd already contacted the bank about the issue, the indictment says. He forged account statements to falsely show that the fraudulent charges had been resolved, the indictment says.

Pace was the president of the circus' board of directors at the time.

The indictment says Pace also diverted to himself over $50,000 in circus checks that were supposed to go to pay down a line of credit at a bank and deposited thousands of dollars' worth of checks donors sent to the circus into his own account.

Finally, the indictment says Pace fraudulently applied for a $18,200 U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Assistance Loan on Aug. 9, 2022, misrepresenting his income and bank account balance. On Aug. 20, 2022, he fraudulently applied for a second loan for $11,200, the indictment says, concealing that he'd also received two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans through the Small Business Administration totaling $38,515.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Each wire fraud charge carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll is prosecuting the case.