Stamford Mayor James Michael Decker has been charged with five federal wire fraud counts after prosecutors accused him of diverting over $300,000 from a community foundation, estates, trusts, and a livestock association to personal and campaign accounts.
A federal grand jury indicted Decker, the elected mayor of Stamford and a qualified attorney, on August 12.
According to the indictment, Decker served as a trustee and executor for various estates and trusts, granting him access to accounts at the Community Foundation of Stamford, F.H. Estate & Family Trust, Estate of J.D.B., N.W. Estate, and T.A. Livestock Association.
Prosecutors claim Decker has no personal ownership stake in the money.
Decker is accused by federal prosecutors of transferring monies from those accounts to his personal and campaign accounts before sending them to two people in Oklahoma with whom he had a covert personal relationship, according to the indictment.
Prosecutors claim the two people had no legal commercial contact with the City of Stamford or any of the estates and trusts.
The indictment charges losses of about $308,000, including $133,000 from the Community Foundation of Stamford, $84,000 from the F.H. Estate & Family Trust, $52,000 from the Estate of J.D.B., $27,000 from the N.W. Estate, and $12,000 from the T. A. Livestock Association.
If convicted, Decker could face up to 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud conviction. Prosecutors are also seeking seizure of property that they claim was acquired from the offenses.
The FBI’s Dallas Field Office investigated the case.
Leave a Reply