Tax Preparer Adam R. Oliva Sentenced to 10½ Years for Pocketing Clients' Tax Payments and Investors' Money

Case from 2024–2025 (U.S. Attorney's Office latest release: Feb. 28, 2025). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Adam R. Oliva, 43, of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, a tax professional, has been sentenced to a total of 10½ years in federal prison in two fraud cases, one for keeping money clients gave him to pay their taxes and one for taking investors' money for loans that never existed, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced Feb. 28, 2025 [1]. Altogether he obtained more than $2.5 million under false pretenses, according to the release.

How the schemes worked

Tax payments (case 23 CR 195). According to the U.S. Attorney's Office [1] [2]:

1. Oliva did business under names including Oliva and Associates LLC and The Oliva Group LLC.
2. From 2015 to 2020, he got clients to give him money supposedly to pay their income taxes, then kept it. He admitted taking more than $1.1 million from more than 10 clients.
3. He filed false returns for some clients showing little or no tax owed, making it less likely the IRS would contact them about unpaid taxes.

Short-term loans (case 22 CR 178). He told investors their money would fund short-term loans to his clients, at returns of 10% to 20%. He never intended to make the loans and spent the money on gambling, restaurant meals and shopping [1].

The person sentenced

Adam R. Oliva, 43, Rolling Meadows, Ill. [1]

• Pleas: pleaded guilty in 2024 in both cases. In the tax-client case, he pleaded guilty Sept. 13, 2024, to wire fraud and preparing a false tax return [2].
• Sentences: six years, imposed in December 2024 in one case, and an additional four and a half years, imposed Feb. 26, 2025, in the other, to be served one after the other, for 10½ years total.
• Investigation: IRS Criminal Investigation and the FDIC Office of Inspector General; prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick D. Young.

Red flags

• A tax preparer who asks you to pay your tax bill to them instead of directly to the IRS or the state.
• A return showing you owe far less than expected with no clear explanation.
• Your preparer offering investment deals with high fixed returns.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Pay taxes directly through IRS Direct Pay or your state revenue department, never through a preparer's account.
2. Check your IRS account at irs.gov/account to confirm payments were received.
3. Report preparer misconduct to the IRS with Form 14157 and investment fraud to the FBI at ic3.gov.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Adam R. Oliva, 43, Rolling Meadows, Ill.	N.D. Ill. (22 CR 178; 23 CR 195)	Pleaded guilty in both cases (2024); sentenced to 6 years (Dec. 2024) and 4½ years (Feb. 26, 2025), consecutive, 10½ years total	[1], [2]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Suburban Chicago Tax Professional Sentenced to More Than Ten Years in Prison for Stealing Client and Investor Funds," Feb. 28, 2025. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/suburban-chicago-tax-professional-sentenced-more-ten-years-prison-stealing-client-and
2. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Suburban Chicago Tax Professional Admits Stealing More Than $1.1 Million in Client Funds," Sept. 18, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/suburban-chicago-tax-professional-admits-stealing-more-11-million-client-funds

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