Former WMass accountant accused of fleecing clients still practicing
WESTFIELD — It began with a small figure in 2016: a $3,000 discrepancy in a small lumber business' payroll account.
Jeffrey Oleksak, fourth-generation owner of Green Meadow Lumber, said it seemed innocuous enough. "It was little incremental problems at first, that snowballed into this giant glacier," he said during an interview Tuesday.
Alleged improprieties by his family's trusted accountant, Donald J. Belisle, nearly crippled the business after it became mired in tax debt, Oleksak said.
The business is one of five alleged victims named in a series of criminal indictments against Belisle in Hampden Superior Court. Belisle is accused of larceny, embezzlement, failing to turn over tax money due to the state Department of Revenue and serving as a certified public accountant without a license.
Aside from the lumber company, Belisle allegedly targeted the former owner of a small florist, a landscaping company, a doctor, a hotelier and a gutter installation business, the charges say.
Belisle, 68, pleaded not guilty to the charges Jan. 23 and was released with a court order to surrender his passport.
He is still practicing at his office suite in a converted Victorian home on Court Street, near Westfield's center. A sign outside reads "Certified Public Accountant," despite the fact that his license was revoked in 2020, according to state records.
CPA Donald J. Belisle's office in Westfield on Thursday. March 5, 2026. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The sign also advertises a payroll service, which does not legally require a CPA license.
Dressed in a plaid shirt Tuesday, Belisle answered a bell call in his front office. A reporter and photographer said they were there to seek comment for this story.
"My wife is dying of cancer. You're really going to do this to me? It's going to be the end of my life," Belisle said.
"I'm all set," he said, before turning on his heel and walking back to the inner office.
Oleksak, the client, said money the business earmarked for payroll taxes never made it to the state or the IRS. He was told in 2019 by the Department of Revenue that the business was in arrears for tens of thousands of dollars. It was then he and his father, Steve Oleksak, pressed Belisle for answers.
"We trusted him. We trusted his expertise," he said, adding that Belisle invariably had a tale of woe when confronted about the finances. "This one is sick; he's sick; someone else is sick. He's always the victim."
Green Meadow Lumber owner Jeffrey Oleksak makes wooden crates in the barn on his Westfield property on Tuesday. March 10, 2026. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Green Meadow Lumber owner Jeffery Oleksak, left, and his father, Steve Oleksak, stand next to one of the company trucks. March 10, 2026. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
The lumber business learned it was in debt to state and federal tax collectors for more than $160,000 with penalties. The DOR in 2021 seized their business account and immediately took $40,000.
Oleksak said the business was forced to come up with an additional $20,000 a week later, to stave off losing physical assets. He had to caution vendors not to cash their checks because the state had bled the business account nearly dry.
Then came the sit-down with the IRS. An agent tallied another $80,000 in tax debt.
Belisle came to Green Meadow's office to meet with an IRS agent and claimed responsibility for the tax debt, Oleksak said. But it didn't matter to the government. A debt is still a debt, with interest and penalties mounting.
The three later sat down on the porch of their business in 2020, Jeffrey Oleksak said.
"He said, 'We're going to get this all squared away. I'd really like to sit down and have a beer with you when this is all done,'" Oleksak said.
That offer wasn't welcome. Jeffrey Oleksak says he boiled with anger over the casual overture.
Green Meadow won a $170,000 civil judgment. Belisle has paid about a third of it back, according to Oleksak.
Green Meadow Lumber owner Jeffrey Oleksak and his father, Steve Oleksak, have been looking to get their money back from Donald Belisle since 2018. March 10, 2026. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Landscaper's rude awakening
Similarly, Christopher Romano, owner of Design-a-Scape, a landscaping company in Agawam, said he received a rude awakening when he was informed he was behind on his payroll taxes in 2012.
"I had an unemployment (tax) problem and I went to him to fix the problem. He said he was paying the money to the government when he really wasn't, and made the problem worse," said Romano, who started the business 40 years ago.
He was referred to Belisle by a friend, he said.
Romano was informed by the IRS he was in debt to the agency. He can't recall the specific amount. But, as was the case with the Oleksaks, the former accountant met with the IRS agent and took responsibility.
"He looked me straight in the eye and said 'Chris I f---ed up. We'll make this right. And that was the last I ever saw of him," Romano said.
He estimates that when he paid off both the state and federal tax debts, with penalties and interest, it cost him more than $300,000.
Records in Hampden Superior and Westfield District courts show Belisle has been entangled in other legal proceedings.
A carpet cleaning and restoration business in 2020 won a $160,000 judgment after the company filed a malpractice lawsuit against Belisle.
Also in 2020, the gutter installation business named in the criminal charges sued Belisle for nearly $125,000 in payroll tax money that never made it to the government's coffers over five years, according to court records.
A default judgment against Belisle was entered by the court the same year.
Easthampton Savings Bank also sued Belisle as an officer of EB Realty Trust II that year for nonpayment of a loan, according to court records. A judgment to the bank for $97,000 was ordered by a judge in 2022.
Meanwhile, records show a credit card company in 2021 sued Belisle for more than $6,000 in small claims court.
Steve Oleksak is the fourth generation of his family to run Green Meadow Lumber in Westfield. He handed the business over to his son, Jeffery Oleksak. March 10, 2026. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
Fire also setback
A fire that erupted at a Green Meadow lumber yard in 2020 was another setback for the family company, along with the juggernaut of the pandemic.
These days, Oleksak said he has paid the government in full by taking out a high-interest equity loan on his home. Their sawmill continues to hum along, albeit with fewer employees.
He said his father is often preoccupied with where all the money went. His son argues that it doesn't really matter.
"It's gone," he said.
Green Meadow Lumber owner Jeffrey Oleksak works in the barn making crates with one of his employees. Oleksak said that he has had to downsize the business dramatically from dozens of employees to himself and one other full-time worker. March 10, 2026. (Douglas Hook / The Republican)Douglas Hook
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