A local tax preparer was sentenced last week on in Maricopa County Superior Court after pleading guilty to a charge of preparing a false tax return, a class 6 felony.
Michelle Schaefer, the owner of MM Tax Solutions, located at 41605 W Hillman Dr. in Maricopa, also was indicted on eight other charges: four counts of Preparing False Tax Returns, and four counts of Forgery. Those charges were dropped as part of her plea agreement, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue.
The ADOR, whose Criminal Investigation Unit investigated the case with assistance from the Arizona Attorney General’s office, said Schaefer was ordered to pay a fine of $8,900 and restitution in the amount of $2,965.
Schaefer was indicted Dec. 21, 2020 and entered a guilty plea on the single tax charge Dec. 13, 2021. She was sentenced Jan. 20 to two years supervised probation, and as part of the plea agreement, Schaefer stipulated she would not prepare taxes for compensation in the future. She also said the fact that eight of the nine charges were dropped showed that her offense was not a serious one.
“They dismissed eight counts that I was indicted for,” Schaefer said. “Only one count, filing a false tax return – my own – was what I pled to, and that was due to a misunderstanding in a form. So, I did go ahead and plead guilty to that. I did receive probation and a fine but the other eight counts were dismissed. So, the…
