Omaha, Nebraska – A resident of Omaha, has been sentenced to serve 6.5 years in a federal prison for his involvement in an elaborate case of tax evasion and embezzlement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Omaha branch has termed this as a stark instance of unchecked greed.
Presiding U.S. District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Jeffrey Stenstrom, 42, to 2.5 years for income tax evasion and an additional 6.5 years for conspiring to launder funds. The two federal sentences will run simultaneously, and it should be noted that there is no provision for parole within the federal prison system.
Eugene Kowel, FBI Omaha’s Special Agent in Charge, shared in a press release from Acting U.S. Attorney Susan T. Lehr’s office that Stenstrom and his co-conspirator amassed over $5 million to fund their extravagant lifestyle. FBI Omaha remains committed to investigating and ensuring individuals such as Stenstrom, who illicitly enrich themselves at the cost of their unsuspecting victims, are brought to justice.
Stenstrom has also been ordered to pay restitution of $5,146,816.51 to the property owners impacted from Darland Properties and $1,954,505.10 to the IRS. As per the press release, Stenstrom has surrendered a slew of valuable assets, including his 2020 McLaren 600LT Spider, two residential properties, two commercial assets in Nebraska, around $2.2 million from life insurance policies, over $74,000 in cash, and several pieces of costly jewelry.
The embezzlement scheme unfolded as Brett Cook, now deceased, redirected remodeling and repair tasks to Stenstrom Services Inc., overcharging clients by subcontracting the work. These inflated invoices were then submitted to insurance companies, leading to unmerited insurance proceeds being released to Darland Properties’ clients.
The press release further reveals that Stenstrom Services Inc. performed no skilled labor and operated without any employees. The majority of the work done on behalf of Darland Properties was subcontracted. Despite earning income through this scheme, Stenstrom failed to declare several assets held under a third party.
Following a tax levy imposed by the IRS on Stenstrom Services Inc., Cook and Stenstrom initiated the diversion of funds to Midwest Property Maintenance Solutions, a company established by Cook and a relative. The laundered funds were deposited into various bank accounts, further obscuring the origin of the funds. The concealed funds were then used to acquire residential and commercial real estate, luxury vehicles, life insurance policies, jewelry, and to cover credit card purchases and loan payments.
The investigation leading to Stenstrom’s arrest and conviction was carried out with the assistance of the IRS and the FBI. Lehr stated in the release, “Today’s sentencing is the culmination of a three-year investigation into the criminal activities of Jeff Stenstrom and Brett Cook that involved the collaboration of our office and multiple federal and local law enforcement agencies spanning multiple states in addition to a parallel civil suit initiated by our office’s asset forfeiture unit. Today’s sentencing is an example of our office’s determination to work with our law enforcement partners to aggressively prosecute white collar criminals, to divest those criminals of the wrongfully obtained proceeds, and to seek restitution for victims.”
