What happened when an Idaho man embezzled $150K and didn’t report it on his tax return

A Caldwell man who embezzled about $150,000 from his employer will spend three years in prison on a felony charge of grand theft.

Chad Stevens, 49, was sentenced by a U.S. district judge May 13 after a prosecutor dismissed three other felony charges against him: one count of grand theft and two counts of fraud by computer. He received 84 days of credit for time already served and was ordered to pay restitution of $158,523.86.

Stevens was also sentenced in a separate Canyon County case to three years in prison for state income tax evasion, according to a news release Tuesday from the State Tax Commission. He’ll serve the sentences concurrently.

Stevens was the business manager and controller of a trucking company based in Homedale. He was hired at Rainey Bros. in November 2016 as a contract worker.

While employed there, he had access to the company’s assets and financial reporting. For more than two years, between December 2017 and June 2019, Stevens used his position to transfer funds from Rainey Bros.’ Wells Fargo checking accounts to make purchases on his personal credit card, according to a probable-cause affidavit by a Canyon County sheriff’s detective.

Stevens also gave himself unauthorized pay raises and took business funds via ATM withdrawals. He recorded false accounting entries to conceal his actions.

The company’s owner, Ryan Rainey, suspected Stevens had taken money from the business and hired Lake Forensic Advisors to investigate. The firm found that Stevens had stolen just over $150,000.

The State Tax Commission said in its new release that Stevens also failed to report $62,197 of embezzled income on his 2018 Idaho tax return and falsified expenses and deductions totaling $16,985 on his 2019 tax return.

“All income, whether obtained legally or illegally, must be reported on a tax return,” State Tax Commission Chairman Jeff McCray said in the news release . “Intentionally providing false information is fraud.”

Stevens’ attorney, Nicholas Wollen of Wollen Law in Boise, did not respond to an emailed request for comment.

How to report tax fraud

The commission said it discovers tax crimes by analyzing tax returns and conducting tax audits, as well as through tips from law enforcement, other state agencies and the public, according to the news release. To report a tax crime, the commission invites people to email the commission’s fraud unit at fraud@tax.idaho.gov .

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