Dawn N. Ison, U.S. Attorney | Department Of Justice Eastern District Of Michigan
Tamara Smith, a 39-year-old resident of Detroit, has been sentenced to an additional 18 months in prison for failing to surrender to the United States Marshal as required by the court. This announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck, with Megan Howell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.
Smith was initially sentenced on June 26, 2024, by U.S. District Judge Jonathan J.C. Grey to a 60-month prison term for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. At that time, she was out on bond and requested more time before beginning her sentence, assuring the court she would surrender voluntarily when ordered. The court agreed to this request and set July 1, 2024, as her surrender date.
However, Smith did not comply with the order and failed to turn herself in. Consequently, an arrest warrant was issued on July 2, 2024. She was subsequently arrested by the U.S. Marshal’s Service on July 18, 2024.
Judge Grey's recent sentencing adds an additional 18 months to her original sentence for her failure to surrender.
Acting United States Attorney Beck stated: “This case should send a message to anyone who deliberately chooses to violate a court order in a criminal case that you will be punished. Orders of courts must be respected and followed. This defendant violated the trust of the court and abused the criminal justice system - she needed to be held accountable.”
Megan Howell commented: "Tamara Smith has been convicted multiple times of defrauding unemployment insurance (UI) programs that are intended to support unemployed American workers. Following her recent conviction and sentencing related to UI fraud charges, she failed to surrender as mandated and made efforts to avoid apprehension. This sentencing affirms the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who attempt to circumvent the justice system."
The investigation was carried out by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Corbett.
