Darlene Musgrove

Introduction

Darlene Musgrove, a 68-year-old paid income tax preparer from Tucson, Arizona, was found guilty on 22 counts of preparing false federal income tax returns for her clients — deductions the clients did not have and, one after another, told a federal jury they never knew about . The verdict came after a trial in which twelve of her own clients took the stand against her, and she now faces up to three years in prison on each count when she is sentenced in February 2027 .

Background Information

Musgrove worked as a paid preparer, the occupation the tax code regulates through rules requiring preparers to exercise due diligence in what they file on a client’s behalf. The false returns at issue were filed with the Internal Revenue Service, and the total tax loss from the twenty-two fraudulent returns was approximately $127,166 .

The case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona in Tucson .

The charge Musgrove was convicted on — aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false federal income tax returns — is the federal count aimed squarely at the preparer rather than the taxpayer: the person whose signature and software stand behind a filing the client may never have read . Each of the 22 counts corresponds to one false return she prepared and filed with the IRS, and the jury’s guilty findings on every count mean the jury accepted the government’s account of all twenty-two filings .

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Convicted; sentencing pending. A federal jury found Musgrove guilty on 22 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false federal income tax returns; sentencing is set for February 23, 2027.

At trial, twelve of Musgrove’s clients testified that they did not have the deductions she included on their tax returns and were not aware of the false deductions . They also testified that the refunds they received when Musgrove prepared their returns were larger than they had received in the past — the visible effect of the inflated filings .

The government’s theory of motive was business, not need: prosecutors alleged at trial that Musgrove’s intent was to acquire larger refunds for her clients so she could secure repeat business . The jury convicted her on all 22 counts .

A conviction for aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false federal income tax returns carries a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a fine of $100,000, or both, for each count .

Public Reaction and Consequences

The verdict was announced by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona the day after the jury returned it, with the case docketed as 24-CR-5055-TUC-RCC and the office’s Tucson division handling the prosecution . The release placed the case in the context of a broader tax-enforcement environment — the same office had weeks earlier joined a national tax enforcement surge with the Justice Department’s Fraud Division, the IRS, and IRS-Criminal Investigation exposing more than $490 million in tax fraud .

The immediate consequences are professional as well as criminal: a paid preparer with 22 felony convictions for fabricating client returns has no remaining client base to defraud, and the clients themselves — twelve of whom testified — are recorded in the case as unwitting beneficiaries of filings they must now answer for with the IRS.

Current Status

Musgrove was convicted on October 5, 2026, and sentencing is scheduled for February 23, 2027, before the Honorable Raner C. Collins, United States District Court Judge . Until sentencing, the 22 counts stand as jury findings, with the statutory maximum of three years and a $100,000 fine available on each.

Impact on Their Career/Life

At 68, Musgrove faces a sentencing hearing that will determine whether her remaining years include federal prison, with a theoretical exposure running to decades across 22 counts. The trial record — client after client denying knowledge of the deductions in their names — documents a business model built on filings the clients never authorized. The approximately $127,166 in tax loss is relatively small in enforcement terms, but the jury’s verdict converts every return she prepared into potential evidence, and the repeat business her false refunds were meant to secure is the one thing the conviction has permanently ended.

Sources

• U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona — “Tucson Income Tax Preparer Found Guilty on 22 Counts of Filing False Federal Income Tax Returns” source