Tax season brings enough stress on its own. But for some people in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota, that stress turns into something far more serious when a tax preparer’s bad guidance lands them in the crosshairs of a criminal investigation. We’ve seen it happen. Someone trusts a professional, signs a return they didn’t fully understand, and years later they’re explaining themselves to investigators from the Minnesota Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigation Division.
It’s a genuinely uncomfortable situation, and it raises a real question: if someone else prepared your return and got it wrong, or worse, deliberately falsified it, can you still face tax fraud charges? The answer is more complicated than most people expect. Cases like these often fall into the broader category of white collar and economic crimes, where the line between victim and accused can shift quickly depending on what prosecutors believe you knew and when you knew it.
What Minnesota Law Actually Requires to Prove Tax Fraud
This is where the legal picture gets important. Under Minnesota law, criminal tax fraud is not simply about a return containing wrong numbers. A person who willfully attempts to evade or defeat a tax law is guilty of a felony. That word “willfully” carries enormous weight. The distinction comes down to the defendant’s intent. The felony-level offense requires that the defendant “willfully attempt to evade or defeat” the tax obligation, whereas other tax offenses may turn on whether the defendant acted “knowingly.”
So what does that mean for someone who relied on a preparer? To be convicted of Minnesota tax fraud, the state must prove the applicable knowledge or willfulness required by the specific offense charged. If you simply make an honest mistake filling out your taxes, you may still owe the correct tax, interest, and applicable civil penalties. But an honest mistake is different from deliberately attempting to evade a tax obligation.
That’s the distinction that matters most in these cases. Genuine ignorance and good-faith reliance on a professional are very different from knowingly signing off on a fraudulent return. The challenge is convincing investigators and prosecutors of that difference.
When Your Preparer Is the Problem
Minnesota has seen real cases where tax preparers fabricated losses, invented businesses, and inflated refunds, sometimes without clients having any idea. A federal jury recently convicted a Minnesota tax preparer on 20 counts of aiding or assisting in the preparation of false tax returns after prosecutors said he fabricated more than $1 million in fraudulent losses on client tax filings to generate refunds the clients were not entitled to receive. He told clients he could secure tax credits other preparers didn’t know about. In reality, prosecutors said, he reported fictitious businesses on the returns, claiming thousands of dollars in phony business losses to inflate refunds. He then paid himself preparation fees of $2,000 or more out of the resulting refunds, sometimes without the knowledge of his clients.
That last detail matters. Clients in that situation may not have known what was on their own returns. And yet investigations like that one can still pull clients into the process, requiring them to demonstrate they had no knowledge of or participation in the fraud.
About that responsibility question: you are responsible for the information reported on your tax return even when someone else prepares it. Signing a return carries legal consequences, and investigators may want to know whether you reviewed what you signed.
The Difference Between Being a Victim and Being Charged
Paid tax preparers must follow Minnesota law. If they violate state law, the Minnesota Department of Revenue may sanction them through penalties, a cease and desist order, or both. A preparer can also face criminal charges. Under Minnesota law, a person who knowingly aids or assists in, or advises in the preparation or presentation of, a return that is fraudulent or false concerning a material matter may be guilty of a felony, whether or not the falsity or fraud was committed with the knowledge or consent of the person required to present the return.
More precisely, that provision applies to any person who knowingly aids, assists in, or advises the preparation or presentation of the false or fraudulent return. A client’s criminal exposure can depend on what they knew and their conduct under the specific offense charged. Minnesota tax-fraud prosecutions require proof of the elements of the particular charged offense; victim reliance and resulting benefit or harm are not elements of Minnesota’s false-return offense.
Lack of the required knowledge or willfulness can be a defense. If a defendant honestly believed the information they provided was accurate, or an error resulted from carelessness rather than the state of mind required by the charged offense, that can undermine the prosecution’s case. That’s a meaningful legal protection, but it requires building and presenting a credible factual record. It doesn’t happen automatically.
What to Do If You Believe Your Preparer Made Serious Errors
If you’ve received a notice from the Minnesota Department of Revenue, been contacted by investigators, or simply discovered that your past returns may contain serious errors, a few things matter right away. Do not attempt to contact investigators on your own without legal guidance. Do not file amended returns without understanding the full legal implications first. And do not assume that because you didn’t intend any fraud, the situation will resolve itself.
We work with clients across Hennepin County, Ramsey County, and throughout the greater Minneapolis metro who find themselves in exactly this position. These are not simple situations. Minnesota’s tax laws can be complex, and the interaction between state and federal tax enforcement adds another layer that requires careful navigation.
If you’re facing questions about your tax returns, whether from an auditor, an investigator, or simply your own growing concern, we encourage you to reach out to our team at Mauzy Law Office, P.A. before the situation escalates. Early consultation gives us the most room to work with.