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Ex-Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith sentenced 21 months, fined $20,000

By Jack Nissen
Published  February 16, 2022 1:44pm EST
Crime and Public Safety
FOX 2 Detroit

Ex-Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith gets maximum 21-month prison sentence

Smith was sentenced today in federal court for his role in a criminal enterprise scheme and has another case looming over him, accused of embezzlement of county forfeiture funds later this month.

MACOMB COUNTY, Mich. - Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith was given a maximum prison sentence of 21 months and was fined $20,000 following his involvement in a criminal enterprise scheme.

Smith, who resigned from his position in 2020 following an investigation into the scheme, will also have to pay $69,900 in restitution and will be on 18 months of supervised release. 

The 55-year-old ex-prosecutor pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice charges after he asked coworkers to lie to the FBI during the investigation. He admitted to stealing $75,000 from a campaign fund from 2012-2019.

US Attorney Dawn Ison said prosecutors got what they wanted with the maximum sentence, afterward.

"You should send a clear message that no one, not even a person elected at the highest level of government, entrusted with enforcing the law, and protecting the community from the very crimes that he committed, is above the law," she said.

Smith's sentencing was delayed due to a separate investigation related to a scheme where he tapped accounts that held money from drunken driving cases, bad check cases and assets forfeited in drug crimes, according to the state attorney general’s office. The alleged scheme dated back to 2012 totaled $600,000.

He was initially charged with embezzlement, forgery, and other crimes after he was accused of stealing money from his campaign fund for personal expenses. He reportedly wrote checks to himself worth tens of thousands of dollars to friends.

FOX 2: "He did cooperate and he did have an apology. Does he get any points for that?"

"What do you mean cooperate, by accepting responsibility for the very actions that he did?" Ison said. "If that is considered cooperation, then he got credit for that. But his conduct was too egregious to ignore."

Read: Eric Smith accused of embezzling $600K

He later asked his friend, an assistant county prosecutor at the time, to lie to the FBI. 

Smith is required to report to jail within 90 days to begin his sentence. But first he is facing embezzlement charges at the end of the month and will be back in court to stand trial on those charges.