Milaca Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to 15 Felonies

MILACA -- A tax preparer from Milaca has pleaded guilty to 15 tax-related felonies.

The Minnesota Department of Revenue says the Mille Lacs County Attorney's Office reached a plea agreement with Cindy Halgren. She plead guilty to 12 counts of preparing false or fraudulent tax returns and three counts of failing to pay income tax. She was charged with 45 tax-related felonies in November 2018.

According to the complaint, Halgren operated a tax preparation service called Clearview Tax out of her home. She prepared and submitted false tax filings for multiple customers and herself. She allegedly filed these returns on the individuals' behalf without reviewing them with her customers or having them sign them. Many of the returns appeared to include expenses for activities that customers identified as hobbies but were portrayed as business deductions.