East Rockaway man arrested for failing to pay more than $91,000 in taxes

Steven Ballin runs accounting firm in Valley Stream

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A certified public accountant from East Rockaway was arraigned on Tuesday after being arrested for allegedly failing to pay more than $91,000 in personal income taxes over the last five years.

Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas announced that Steven Ballin, 68, appeared before Judge Scott Siller and was charged with four counts of third-degree criminal tax fraud and three counts of repeated failure to file personal income and earnings taxes.

“Cheating on taxes, as this CPA allegedly did, is a crime that victimizes every honest taxpayer,” Singas said in a release. “My office will continue to work with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance to ensure that public funds are protected and everybody pays their fair share.”

Singas said that following a joint investigation by the NCDA and New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, it was determined that Ballin allegedly failed to file personal state tax returns for the tax years of 2010-14, and that he owes the state $91,901.

“When a certified public accountant blatantly disregards the tax law, it’s a discredit to their profession and their law abiding colleagues,” said Nonie Manion, the acting commissioner of the Department of Taxation and Finance. “We thank District Attorney Madeline Singas and her Economic Crimes Bureau for partnering with us on this case.”

Ballin obtained his CPA license in 1979 and is registered as an accountant through August 2017. His firm, Steven H. Ballin, C.P.A., P.C. is located in Valley Stream.

Assistant District Attorney Lauren S. Littman of Singas’s Economic Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case. Ballin is represented by Richard Kestenbaum, Esq.

Ballin was released and is due back in court on May 30. If convicted, he could face up to seven years in prison.