Maine Tax Preparer Pleads Guilty to Filing False Returns and Wire Fraud

A Maine man pleaded guilty on October 7, 2026, to filing false tax returns for himself and others and to defrauding clients by diverting portions of their refunds to himself without authorization, the Justice Department said. According to the department, Thierry Musese operated a tax preparation business out of a barbershop in Auburn, Maine. For the 2021 and 2022 tax years, he prepared client returns that reported fabricated business losses, false fuel tax credits and improper residential energy credits, generating inflated refunds the taxpayers were not entitled to receive, court filings and statements made in court showed. The department said Musese also diverted part of his clients' refunds to himself without their knowledge, continued preparing false returns after the IRS revoked his electronic filing credentials, and filed false personal tax returns during the same period. Musese pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return, one count of filing a false tax return and one count of wire fraud. He faces up to three years in prison on each of the first two counts and up to 20 years on the wire fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors, according to the department. IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice.

Originally published by True News: https://truenews.bagleyenterprises.net/stories/122