By Attorney General Dana Nessel
LANSING – Today, Assistant Attorney General Eric Sterbis (PNG) was awarded a Merit Service Award by the Troy Police Department, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The award recognizes Sterbis’ work in dismantling a large-scale criminal organization responsible for the thefts of hundreds of vehicles in Southeast Michigan and losses exceeding $40 million.
The Troy Police Department began investigating the auto theft ring in August 2023 and partnered with Sterbis and the Attorney General’s FORCE Team in early 2024 to bring down the expansive criminal organization. The ring targeted new vehicle storage lots at manufacturing facilities, car dealerships, parking lots, and individual residences. To date, more than 40 individuals have been charged in connection with the criminal organization and several members have been sentenced.
“This award is a well-deserved honor that demonstrates the tremendous job Eric does in stopping prolific criminal organizations in their tracks,” said Attorney General Nessel. “His work makes our communities safer, and I couldn’t be more grateful for his dedication to Michigan residents and the businesses that serve them.”
Having served as an assistant prosecuting attorney for over 17 years, Sterbis has extensive experience prosecuting a variety of criminal offenses. He began working at the Department of Attorney General in 2021 and is currently assigned to the Attorney General’s FORCE Team, which targets criminal organizations that steal products from retailers to repackage and sell for a profit. Sterbis is one of the two assistant attorneys general who serve the unit full time, working with special agents within the Department of Attorney General and Michigan State Police detectives to investigate and prosecute these crimes. The FORCE team also partners with the FBI’s Detroit Fraud and Financial Crimes Task Force and the Postal Inspection Service. This is a first-in-the-nation unit, unique in the 50 states as being the first such unit with embedded, dedicated staff from the Department of Attorney General.
Sterbis earned his bachelor’s degree in law enforcement and justice from Western Illinois University, where he competed as a division 1 athlete on the school’s cross-country and track & field teams, before receiving his juris doctorate degree at the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law. In his free time, Sterbis enjoys spending time with his wife and children.
