LANSING – After pleading no contest to two counts of receiving stolen property valued between $1,000 to $20,000, Steven Decker, 34, of Wyandotte is set to be sentenced on May 4 in the Wayne Circuit Court, Attorney General Dana Nessel announced.
Decker was charged in connection with the theft of monies from the Michigan Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property Division and the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
As part of his plea agreement, Decker will also be ordered to pay $28,506 restitution. This represents the portion of stolen funds, amounting in excess of $400,000, Decker received and spent, with the knowledge the funds were stolen.
Decker could be sentenced to up to 5 years. Circuit Court Judge William Giovan will preside at Decker’s sentencing.
In June 2022, Decker’s co-defendant, Melissa Flores, was sentenced to two years in prison and was ordered to pay $110,000 restitution for her role in the scam.
The attorney general’s enforcement operation was conducted in close collaboration with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General.
“My office will continue to vigorously prosecute those who defraud our public agencies,” Nessel said. “Michigan’s taxpayers and service-members deserve no less. I commend my team in the Financial Crimes Division and their partner agencies for securing this plea for one defendant and ensuring that another defendant be returned to our state to face charges.”