Michelle Schaefer to Pay Nearly $12,000 in Restitution and Fines for Preparing False Tax Returns

Michelle Schaefer was ordered today to pay restitution in the amount of $2,965, and a fine totaling $8,900 for operating a scheme of knowingly creating fictitious W-2’s with fabricated Arizona income tax withholdings to increase tax refunds for herself and 3 clients.

On December 21, 2020, the State Grand Jury indicted Michelle Schaefer, a tax preparer and owner of MM Tax Solutions, on charges of Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, 4 counts of Preparing False Tax Returns and 4 counts of Forgery for allegedly preparing Arizona Personal Income Tax Returns that contained fraudulent information for tax year 2018.

On December 13, 2021, Michelle Schaefer plead guilty to one count of Preparing False Return, a class 6 undesignated felony, in violation of A.R.S. § 42-1127(B)(2), for preparing a false tax return that was submitted to the Arizona Department of Revenue on or about April 24, 2019. As part of the plea agreement with the State of Arizona, Schaefer agreed to pay restitution and fines. Additionally, Schaefer stipulated that she will not prepare taxes for compensation going forward.

The Arizona Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigation Unit investigated the case with assistance from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

State v. Michelle Schaefer (CR2020-002323 / P0022020000515)

Thursday, January 20, 2022