"Through the criminal proceedings, my office has frozen a number of Mr. Decatur’s assets and we will continue to pursue his estate for monetary recovery for the taxpayers of Geauga County." – Prosecutor Jim Flaiz
Stephen Decatur, Geauga County’s former chief information officer accused of embezzling public monies from the county auditor’s office, has died, according to multiple sources.
“I can confirm that Steve Decatur died on Oct. 1, 2018,” Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz said in an Oct. 3 email.
Flaiz also told the Geauga County Maple Leaf that Decatur died at University Hospitals in Cleveland. He added Decatur had moved out of a rental home in Munson Township last year and into a home he owned in Shaker Heights in Cuyahoga County.
The 59-year-old Decatur and his 36-year-old daughter, Stephanie Stewart, are alleged to have orchestrated a scheme to steal more than $1.8 million in public funds from the county auditor’s office over an eight-year period, from Feb. 1, 2010, through Oct. 25, 2017.
“We’re waiting on a report from the Cuyahoga County medical examiner and the issuance of a death certificate,” Flaiz said Oct. 15.
This story will be updated as additional information becomes available.
