Visalia tax preparer had warrant for previous theft case at time of arrest
VISALIA, Calif. (KFSN) -- The sign on the door says, "We are closed until further notice. Engman Tax Service."
Visalia Police arrested Brandy Engman on Thursday.
They say the 49-year-old tax preparer falsified her clients' tax returns and sometimes didn't file them at all, but still pocketed the fees she charged.
Engman, who is also accused of credit card fraud and identity theft, had an active warrant at the time of her arrest, for failing to appear in court twice for a separate 2015 theft case.
Shelley Miller was one of Engman's clients and had scheduled an appointment with her on Thursday to clear up some confusion about previous tax returns.
"Police had boxes and I just automatically knew, I was like, 'She's getting raided,'" Miller said.
Over the last few years, Miller says she has received letters from the Internal Revenue Service, saying they didn't receive her taxes.
Miller had hoped to see how Engman was filing her taxes on Thursday, but obviously, that didn't happen.
"It was kind of hard to get a hold of her sometimes. I just figured it was because she was busy, tax season, that kind of stuff. And then I kind of let it go, didn't hear from the IRS, figured everything was fine, but I still didn't get my other money, and so then I kept calling her."
Miller took a Snapchat video of police at Engman's house and posted it on Facebook.
It's been shared nearly 900 times so far.
"We believe she had several dozen clients, and if those folks feel that they were victimized by this person, we want to talk to them," said Visalia Police Sgt. Damon Maurice.
Visalia Police will be meeting with the IRS to discuss the case next week.
Miller wants to talk to them too and has a message for Engman.
"Karma will find you," she said. "I can't curse on camera, so karma will find you."
