Torrington Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Bank Fraud, Violating Supervised Release

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that Steven Finkler, 49, of Torrington, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 60 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, for bank fraud, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release from a previous federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on July 19, 2012, a fraudulent check from Fidelity Brokerage Services LCC made payable to Finkler in the amount of $10,000.46 was deposited into Finkler’s bank account at Sovereign Bank in Torrington. Over the course of the next week, $9,828.83 was withdrawn from the account through check card transactions, ATM withdrawals, and cashed checks made payable to Finkler’s wife.

In June and July 2012, Finkler deposited five additional fraudulent checks totaling more than $29,000 into accounts he maintained. In each of these instances, the financial institution discovered the fraud and the check did not clear.

Finkler has a criminal history that spans 30 years and includes numerous convictions, including four federal convictions stemming from various fraud schemes. In October 2005, he was sentenced in the Eastern District of New York to 92 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for engaging in three separate fraud schemes, two of which occurred while he was previously incarcerated. Finkler was released from prison on September 15, 2010.

Finkler has been detained since his arrest on July 26, 2012. On April 23, 2013, he pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and to violating the terms of his supervised release. Judge Underhill sentenced Finkler to 36 months of imprisonment on the fraud conviction and a consecutive 24-month prison term for the supervised release violation.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Richards.