A tax professional from suburban Chicago has been sentenced to over ten years in federal prison for defrauding clients and investors out of more than $2.5 million. Adam R. Oliva, aged 43, from Rolling Meadows, Illinois, was found guilty last year in two separate federal fraud cases.
Oliva received a six-year sentence in December for one case and an additional four-and-a-half-year sentence on Wednesday for the second case. These sentences are to be served consecutively, resulting in a total of ten and a half years behind bars.
In one instance, Oliva misrepresented himself as a tax professional operating under names such as Oliva and Associates LLC and The Oliva Group LLC. Between 2015 and 2020, he convinced clients to give him money supposedly to pay their income taxes but instead kept the funds for personal use. He also admitted to filing false tax returns for some clients, which showed no or reduced tax liabilities to avoid detection by the IRS regarding unpaid taxes.
In another case, Oliva deceived investors who entrusted him with money intended for short-term loans to clients. He promised these investors returns ranging from 10% to 20%, yet had no intention of issuing any loans. Instead, he used the funds for personal expenses like gambling, dining out, and shopping.
The sentences were announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office; and Vincent R. Zehme, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Region of the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick D. Young represented the government in this matter.
