After embezzling millions from clients, snitching on mobsters and declining an offer to go into the witness-protection program, Stephen P. Corso six years ago swore to a federal judge that he would “never, ever” practice as a licensed accountant again.
In fact, Mr. Corso allegedly went straight back to work under an assumed name, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a court filing this week. Mr. Corso’s new name: Steven John Corso.
“[Mr. Corso] merely changed the spelling of his first name and changed his middle name,” said the SEC. In fact, the agency said, Steven John Corso “comes from nowhere, has no credentials and has no past.”
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The modest tweak to his name was revealed in Monday’s filing, in which the SEC called for Mr. Corso to cease his accounting work and surrender all compensation received for such services since April 2009. The agency said Mr. Corso has been preparing and filing financial statements on behalf of companies for years under his new name.
Mr. Corso’s accountant license was revoked following his conviction for wire fraud and attempted tax evasion.
The SEC is now investigating Mr. Corso’s activities as part of a wider probe into penny-stock fraud that will likely lead to enforcement action, the Journal reported earlier this week.
The agency said Mr. Corso brandished fabricated credentials and worked under the cover of a fictitious business, “Corso & Company,” in which he described himself as an “SEC Consultant and Attorney.”
Working out of Encinitas, Calif., Mr. Corso allegedly provided accounting and consulting services to three public companies or companies seeking to go public beginning in 2010, the SEC said. In financial filings for those companies, Mr. Corso touted law and bachelor’s degrees from elite schools he didn’t earn.
The agency said those actions allegedly violated an April 2009 order that permanently barred Mr. Corso from appearing or practicing before the agency.
At one company, Mr. Corso held the position of chief financial officer from February 2014 to June 2015 and received a salary of $70,500, according to court documents.
Mr. Corso’s attorney, Thomas Fitzpatrick, declined to comment. Mr. Corso couldn’t be reached for comment. He previously declined to comment about his alleged new career when reached by The Wall Street Journal.
A son of Italian immigrants, Mr. Corso, 60, pleaded guilty in 2009 to stealing more than $5 million from his clients, in many cases simply keeping their tax money for himself. While practicing as an accountant in New York, he led a second life in Las Vegas for many years, racking up what the government said were considerable gambling losses.
After his conviction, Mr. Corso’s lawyer said his client would live the rest of his life with “a target on his back.” And facing a 7 ½-year prison sentence under federal guidelines, Mr. Corso agreed to become an informant for the government.
His undercover work led to convictions for a number of mobsters, including two New York police officers eventually convicted of carrying out hits for the Mafia. In return for his cooperation, a federal judge reduced the sentence of Mr. Corso, who ended up serving less than a year behind bars. He was also ordered to pay $5.5 million in restitution in monthly payments of $4,000.
The SEC said in its filing on Monday that Mr. Corso hasn’t yet fully paid his restitution.
To prove “Steven John Corso” and Stephen P. Corso were the same person, the SEC produced checks drawn on the bank account of Corso & Company, for which Stephen P. Corso was the principal. The checks included alimony payments to Mr. Corso’s ex-wife and restitution obligations to the U.S. District Court.
Mr. Corso also presented his old pre-incarceration driver’s license, identifying him as Stephen Corso Jr., to pay for a $206.49 grocery bill at a Whole Foods supermarket with a check in December 2011, the agency said.
The SEC has asked a federal judge to set a hearing and force Mr. Corso to appear “at a reasonable location” and disgorge the money he allegedly received working as an accountant and consultant since 2009.