Former Macomb Co. Prosecutor Pleads Guilty To Obstruction Charge

MACOMB COUNTY, MI — A former Macomb County prosecutor has pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, admitting he stole more than $74,000 from his campaign fund through two different fraud schemes, federal authorities said Tuesday.

Eric Smith, 53, of Macomb Township, appeared before United States District Judge Linda Parker in Detroit Tuesday ad pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice — a 20-year felony, authorities said. As part of the plea, Smith will forfeit the $69,950 in fraud proceeds that he received from his scheme to steal from his campaign account, prosecutors said.

“Some may view Smith’s conviction as a reason to lack confidence in our elected officials or our prosecutors. But the opposite is true,” U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said. “This case shows that our system works. When there is a rare case where a law enforcement officer commits crimes, he or she will be held accountable. Smith’s case is that kind of case. No one is above the law in Michigan — and that includes those who enforce the law.”

Smith admitted 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, according to court records.

The obstruction of justice charge was based on 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, officials said. 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, authorities said.

Smith admitted that he had stolen over $74,000 from his campaign fund through two different fraud schemes as part of the plea, prosecutors said. In one scheme, Smith falsely claimed that he was using campaign funds to pay rent on office space for his re-election efforts. But authorities said that in truth he 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 checks to Smith to use for his personal expenses, officials said.

In a second fraud scheme, prosecutors said Smith wrote a check for $20,000 from the campaign fund to an assistant Macomb County prosecutor, ostensibly for “consulting” work on the campaign. However, the assistant prosecutor then cashed the check and surreptitiously provided $15,000 in cash to Smith for Smith’s personal expenses, according to authorities.

"Any attempt to hinder a criminal investigation is a very serious matter," said Timothy Waters, a special agent in charge of FBI Detroit. "This case, a man who had taken an oath to uphold the law was actively encouraging others to break it. That Mr. Smith was unsuccessful in his attempt to undermine the investigation is a testament to the determination of the FBI to hold individuals accountable when they break the law."