Details of Rochester man’s tax crimes case: $24K in unemployment, 11 years of missed returns

(ABC 6 News) – A Rochester business owner accused of failing to pay taxes failed to file or pay more than $315,000, according to court documents.

Stephen Craig Stensrud, 41, is representing himself in court according to Minnesota Court Records Online.

Stensrud was the subject of a July 2023 Minnesota Department Of Revenue (MDOR) tip, which alleged he had not paid his taxes in six years.

Court documents allege that MDOR staff had attempted to contact Stensrud in 2019 and 2022 about individual tax liability.

MDOR staff had not been able to reach Stensrud since June of 2022, according to court documents.

An investigator reviewed Stensrud’s records in MN and Wisconsin, and allegedly learned he had not filed an individual income tax return since 2012.

The MDOR sent 49 letters over 11 years to Stensrud’s listed address on 26th Avenue SE.

However, Stensrud currently lives on Stone Point Drive, NE, according to court documents, and also has an address in Holmen, Wisconsin.

According to court documents, Stensrud deposited $2.4 million into several accounts in his own name or under T&S Companies, or in the name of juvenile children, for roofing or other contract work, between 2018 and 2023.

He received $24,188 in “unemployment” payments in 2020.

Stensrud also allegedly told customers he worked for a business called OC Exteriors, but asked them to make checks out to him, personally, which he deposited in his own accounts.

Olmsted County court records break Stensrud’s unpaid taxes down as follows:
2018 defendant had total taxes owed $72,812.30
2019 defendant had total taxes owed $108, 475.44
2020 defendant had total taxes owed $24,805.12
2021 defendant had total taxes owed $24,685.00
2022 defendant had total taxes owed $68,010.92
2023 defendant had total taxes owed $16,267.02
The total taxes from all periods with penalties and interest is $315,055.80.

According to court documents, in March of 2024, an investigator successfully contacted Stensrud about his outstanding tax issues.

Stensrud allegedly told law enforcement that two men who had died in the past two years had handled his taxes in the past.

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ABC 6 NEWS — According to the Minnesota Department of Revenue, one Rochester man has been charged with failing to file income taxes on more than $2.4 million.

In a press release, the MnDOR announced that Stephen Craig Stensrud is facing six felony counts of failing to file tax returns, as well as six felony counts of failing to pay income taxes.

The department alleges that, across a time period of 2018 to 2023, Stensrud — the co-owner of T&S Companies — deposited over $2.4 million into multiple bank accounts in order to try and avoid income tax liabilities. They also claim that Stensrud listed his occupation as “retired” while, “he had a steady number of incoming checks from several individuals for roofing and exterior home repairs.”

Stensrud allegedly owes more than $315,000 in income taxes, penalties and interest.

As of now there is no word on the next step of this investigation.