Geauga County’s chief technology officer has been arrested and charged with embezzling money from the county, according to court records and sources familiar with the investigation.
Geauga County’s chief technology officer has been arrested and charged with embezzling money from the county, according to court records and sources familiar with the investigation.
Stephen T. Decatur, 58, of 12477 Heath Road in Munson Township, was charged with having an unlawful interest in a public contract, a fourth-degree felony.
The dollar amount is believed to be in excess of $250,000, according to court records.
He remained in jail on Thursday until his arraignment 10 a.m. Friday in Chardon Municipal Court.
In a complaint, Decatur, acting as a public official, made payments to a fictitious company, owned and operated by Stephanie E. Stewart, his daughter.
From Nov. 2016 to Sept. 28, 2017 “Decatur and Auditor Frank Gliha have authorized the payment of $259,700.00 to SMCS Tech for Geauga County Automated Data Processing service without contracts or service agreements.”
It also states that “SMCS Tech issued cashier’s checks to Stephen Decatur that were deposited into his personal account as recently as July 29, 2017.”
Decatur, whose employment was terminated Thursday morning, had worked for Geauga County for 12 years, according to his LinkedIn page, working in the Automatic Data Process Center, which includes running the county’s website (www.co.geauga.oh.us).
The Data Processing Center is part of Geauga County Auditor Frank Gliha’s Office. According to its website, the Data Processing Center automates county functions, like accounting, payroll, water bills and personal property taxes, among others.
Decatur’s email address is listed as the contact for the Data Processing Center.
The ADP board, made up of Geauga County elected officials, called an emergency meeting Thursday at 10 a.m. to address the issue.
Geauga County Prosecutor Jim Flaiz is a member of the ADP board and said steps have been taken to secure the county’s informational systems as the investigation continues. Flaiz had no further comment on the pending case.
Geauga County employees were emailed Thursday afternoon by Allen Keener, senior systems administrator for the ADP Department of Information Technology.
“Please change your Windows password immediately and do not use your current password for the new password,” read the email.
Decatur has had financial trouble in the past 10 years, according to Geauga County court records. He has been sued four times by creditors to recover money.
In all four cases, from 2007 to 2011, judgments were ruled against Decatur for a total amount of more than $15,000, with the largest being a $6,135 lawsuit by CitiBank in 2008.
Decatur listed employment with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security from 2009 to 2016, but that part of his resume was made up, a member of the ADP board said.
