Detroit woman given more prison time after failing to report for sentence

Charles E. Ramirez, The Detroit News on Mar 26, 2025

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DETROIT — A Detroit woman who did not report to federal prison has been given more time behind bars, officials said.

Tamara Smith, 39, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Detroit to 18 months for failing to report for the start of a previous prison sentence, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Julie Beck said.

"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," Beck said in a statement. "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."

Smith's attorney, Natasha Webster with the Federal Community Defender Office, was not immediately available for comment.

However, in a sentencing memorandum Webster submitted to the court on Smith's behalf, the attorney said her client had a traumatic childhood and experienced abuse in the foster care system, which impacted her decision-making. She also wrote that one of Smith's close friends died the morning her client was arrested.

"Ms. Smith was overwhelmed by her need to situate herself as best as she could prior to starting her sentence rather than considering the long-term consequences," she wrote in the memo. "Her emotional dysregulation appears to have impacted her decision making."

Webster added: "Her emotional state contributed to her behavior on that date. Although it is no excuse for her conduct, counsel respectfully requests the court to consider the circumstances at the time."

Authorities said a federal judge on June 26 sentenced Smith to five years in prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. At the time of her sentencing, Smith was on bond.

They said that instead of being immediately taken into custody to begin her sentence, she asked for more time on bond and assured the court she would voluntarily report to prison when ordered to do so.

The court agreed and ordered her to surrender to U.S. Marshals in Detroit on July 1, according to federal officials.

However, federal agents said Smith deliberately failed to surrender to Marshals as ordered, and the court issued an arrest warrant for her on July 2. Federal officers arrested Smith on July 18.

Beck said Smith's 18-month sentence will be served consecutive to her underlying 60-month sentence for fraud and identity theft.

"Tamara Smith has been convicted multiple times of defrauding unemployment insurance programs that are intended to support unemployed American workers," Megan Howell, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge for the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General, Great Lakes Region, said in a statement. "Following her recent conviction and sentencing related to 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."

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