The Accountant Accused of Taking $200K From His Own Client

A Westchester accountant allegedly used access to a plumbing company’s accounts to write checks to himself. Prosecutors also say he and his wife failed to file state tax returns for several years.

Yes, that is the couple in the photo.

Carmine Disanto, a New Rochelle accountant, is accused of stealing about $200,000 from a client. His wife, Patricia Kruse Disanto, a civilian employee of the Harrison Police Department, is also facing charges tied to allegedly failing to file state tax returns.

A New Rochelle accountant is facing felony charges after Westchester prosecutors accused him of stealing about $200,000 from a client.

The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office said Carmine Disanto, 59, was arrested Wednesday by the office’s Law Enforcement Unit. Prosecutors allege Disanto, who had been hired as a consultant by a plumbing business, used his access to the company’s financial accounts to issue unauthorized checks to himself.

The case also includes tax charges against Disanto and his wife, Patricia Kruse Disanto, 57. Prosecutors say both failed to file New York state tax returns and remit required payments over multiple years.

The Alleged Theft

According to a felony complaint filed in New Rochelle City Court, Disanto was working with a plumbing business as a consultant when he allegedly used the company’s financial accounts to write checks to himself.

The total, prosecutors said, was approximately $200,000.

For accounting firms and small business owners, the case is a reminder of a basic but often ignored control issue: access matters. When one outside adviser has broad access to accounts, check-writing authority, or payment workflows without strong review, a business can be exposed fast.

That risk is especially high in smaller companies, where owners often rely on long-term trust, informal approvals, and a small back office. Those shortcuts can work for years until they do not.

Tax Charges Added to the Case

Disanto was charged with Grand Larceny in the Second Degree, a class C felony, in connection with the alleged theft.

He was also charged with two counts of Criminal Tax Fraud in the Third Degree, a class D felony, and one count of Repeated Failure to File, a class E felony. Prosecutors allege he failed to file state tax returns or pay the appropriate amount to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance from 2021 through 2024.

The DA’s office said Disanto’s cumulative state tax liability for those years totaled $36,155.

Kruse Disanto was charged with two counts each of Repeated Failure to File and Offering a False Instrument for Filing in the First Degree, both class E felonies. Prosecutors allege she also failed to file state tax returns or make required payments from 2021 through 2024. Her cumulative state tax liability was listed at $1,633.

The Public Employee Angle

Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace criticized the alleged conduct, calling tax fraud a harm against the public and noting that one defendant is a public servant.

“A fraud perpetrated on the state is a fraud perpetrated against all of us,” Cacace said in the announcement. She added that her office would work to ensure the plumbing business allegedly defrauded by Disanto is made whole.

The public employee detail is likely to draw extra attention, but the larger issue for the profession is trust. Accountants and consultants are often given access to sensitive financial systems because clients assume professional oversight lowers risk. When an adviser is accused of abusing that access, it damages more than one client relationship.

What Happens Next

Both defendants were arraigned Wednesday before Judge Michelle Bernstein.

Disanto is scheduled to return to court on August 7. Kruse Disanto is due back in court on July 26.

The case was investigated by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Economic Crimes Bureau, forensic accountant Michael Frenza, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and the North Castle Police Department. The arrests were processed by the DA’s Law Enforcement Unit.

Assistant District Attorney Nicole Gamble of the Economic Crimes Bureau is prosecuting the case.

For firm owners and business clients, the practical lesson is not complicated. Separate duties. Review bank activity. Limit payment authority. Require documentation. Trust is important, but it is not a control system.