Olean CPA Joseph Stevens Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

Olean, NY – Joseph Stevens, 53, a licensed Certified Public Accountant, stood before U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford this week and admitted to orchestrating a years-long bank fraud scheme that bled a client’s business dry. Stevens pled guilty to charges of bank fraud and tax evasion, crimes that could land him behind bars for up to 30 years and cost him $1 million in fines.

According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross, Stevens was hired in August 2012 by a local business owner to manage all financial operations — from payroll to vendor payments and tax filings. With access to two business accounts at Five Star Bank in Warsaw, NY, Stevens positioned himself as a trusted financial steward. But by early 2016, the facade began to crack. The business owner was told revenues were down, a $30,000 line of credit had been maxed out without consent, and his 2015 taxes remained unpaid — all lies laid at Stevens’ feet.

Alarm bells rang louder when monthly bank statements stopped arriving. On March 24, 2017, the business owner walked into the Warsaw branch and demanded account records — what he found was gutting. Between August 2012 and April 2017, Stevens had siphoned $342,700 through unauthorized electronic transfers into his personal accounts. He also forged 39 checks payable to himself, totaling $87,800. The theft was methodical, hidden in plain sight by a man sworn to uphold financial integrity.

Even as he looted his client’s accounts, Stevens vanished from the IRS radar. He failed to file tax returns for 2014 and 2015, cheating the government out of $29,186 and $53,296 respectively. The dual betrayal — of client and country — underscores the depth of his financial misconduct, prosecutors say.

The unraveling was the result of a joint investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations Division, led by Special Agent-in-Charge James D. Robnett, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, under Inspector-in-Charge Shelly Binkowski of the Boston Division. Federal agents traced the digital and paper trail Stevens left behind, building a case that left no room for denial.

Sentencing is set for June 7, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. before Judge Wolford. With his license, livelihood, and freedom on the line, Joseph Stevens now faces the full weight of federal justice — a fall from trusted CPA to convicted felon.