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Former Macomb County Prosecutor Eric Smith was sentenced Wednesday to 21 months in prison for obstuction of justice, in line with a request from federal prosecutors.
U.S. District Judge Linda Parker's sentencing comes after Smith was accused of encouraging at least two of his assistant prosecutors to lie to the FBI and obstruct a grand jury investigation into his theft of campaign funds.
Smith will have to forfeit the $70,000 he admitted to stealing from the account and pay a $20,000 fine.
"As an elected prosecutor, his conduct strikes at the very core of our justice system," U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison said in a statement. "Today’s sentence proves that our justice system works and that no one, not even a county’s chief law enforcement officer is above the law.”
Smith ran the fraud scheme from 2012 to 2020, having $55,000 in checks written from his campaign account to an associate for use of their property for a campaign office. The associate cashed the checks and kicked back the entire amount to Smith.
He also issued a $20,000 check from his campaign fund to an assistant prosecutor, who returned him $15,000 and kept the remaining $5,000.
Smith then tried to cover up his crimes by asking assistant prosecutors to lie to the FBI and grand jury.
In a sentencing memo, prosecutors pointed out the hypocrisy of Smith's actions.
While prosecuting an attorney in 2013 who embezzled money from his clients’ trust account, he a issued a press release calling it a "sad example of the old adage: sometimes it’s easier to rob you with a fountain pen than it is with a gun.” Prosecutors said early this month that the "people of Macomb County did not know how familiar Smith was with this old adage."
Smith is also due to stand trial in Macomb County Circuit Court on charges that he and others embezzled money from drunken driving cases, bad check cases and assets forfeited in drug crimes involving around $600,000. Smith used some of the money for gifts, office parties and campaign promotions, authorities say.
