[14] Smith was fined $750 by Michigan's Attorney Grievance Commission in September 2012 for calling Stephen Grant a "sociopath" after his February 2007 arrest.
[18] In February 2019, the Board of Commissioners approved hiring a forensic accounting firm, UHY Advisors, to conduct a formal audit of the funds.
[18] The board fired UHY Advisors one day after hiring them after learning that one of the firm's partners had served as the treasurer for the campaign committee for Democratic Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
Hackel, who spent 10 years as Macomb County Sheriff, claimed the dismissal was orchestrated by Smith's brother Bob, who was chairman of the Board of Commissioners.
[20] On April 1, 2019, Nessel's office and the Michigan State Police confirmed they had opened a criminal investigation upon Hackel's request.
[24] Smith turned himself in to the Michigan State Police and was formally arraigned via video conferencing on March 27, 2020, and released on $100,000 personal bond.
In September 2020, Liston agreed to plead guilty to three misdemeanor counts of willful neglect by a public official and testify against Smith, Miller and Weber, in exchange for the attorney general's office dropping four felony charges against him.
[26] Following the charges being announced, Smith once again said the investigation was political payback, this time saying it was because he did not initially support Nessel in her 2018 election for Attorney General.
Smith was accused of taking $75,000 from his campaign account to use for personal expenses, then encouraging potential witnesses to lie on his behalf.
[35] The plea hearing was again rescheduled in November 2020 when Smith revealed he had tested positive for COVID-19 and had been recently hospitalized for treatment for the virus.
"[37] Smith formally pleaded guilty in federal court on January 27, 2021, saying "...I fully accept responsibility for my actions, I acted alone.
I deeply regret my actions and the shame I brought to my wife, my children, the office I spent almost 30 years working for and the people of Macomb County.