Grand jury indicts Maricopa tax preparer

A Maricopa tax preparer was indicted by a state grand jury in December for allegedly preparing Arizona personal income tax returns that contained fraudulent information.

Michelle Avery Schaefer, owner of MM Tax Solutions, was charged with Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices, a class 2 felony; four counts of Preparing False Tax Returns, a class 5 felony;  and four counts of Forgery, a class 4 felony, according to the Dec. 21 indictment announced Friday.

The indictment alleges Schaefer created fictitious W-2s with fabricated Arizona income tax withholdings to increase tax refunds for herself and three clients for tax year 2018, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue, whose Criminal Investigation Unit investigated the case with assistance from the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.

Schaefer allegedly used a landscaping company’s sensitive business information without its knowledge or consent to create the fabricated W-2s using fraudulent Arizona income tax withholdings, the revenue department said. The landscaping company was an MM Tax Solutions client, according to officials.

The inclusion of the fraudulent withholding amounts on its tax returns resulted in higher tax refunds, according to the department.

Contacted by email Tuesday morning, Schaefer said she would have comment on the charges later that day, but has not since responded.

The state Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case.

According to Schaefer’s LinkedIn page, she opened MM Solutions LLC in February 2015 after previously working in property management in Washington and the West Coast market.