Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith Sentenced to Prison for Obstruction of Justice

The U.S. Department of Justice reports in its press release (quotation, not an independent finding): “DETROIT - Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith, 53, of Macomb Township, was sentenced today to 21 months in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, announced United States Attorney Dawn Ison. Ison was joined in the announcement by Acting Special Agent in Charge Joshua Hauxhurst, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division. Smith pleaded guilty on January 27, 2021, before United States District Judge Linda V. Parker, to obstructing justice by attempting to get a friend and two of his assistant county prosecutors to make false statements to federal law enforcement officers and a federal grand jury in a federal criminal investigation of Smith’s own criminal conduct. Smith’s obstruction of justice related to an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation that revealed that between 2012 and 2020, Smith conducted two fraud schemes to steal approximately $75,000 in cash from his political campaign fund to use for personal expenses. When he became aware of a federal grand jury investigation in 2019, Smith pressured three witnesses to lie and commit perjury on his behalf to federal authorities and a federal grand jury. Smith admitted that he had stolen over $74,000 from his campaign fund through two different fraud schemes. In one scheme, Smith falsely claimed that he was using campaign funds to pay rent on office space for his re-election efforts. In truth, however, Smith never used the office space, but instead wrote dozens of fraudulent checks to a friend worth over $50,000. The friend then kicked back cash from all of the cashed”