A Wisconsin business owner thought a friend was handling personal and business taxes. The case ended in Manitowoc County court with theft and forgery convictions, seven years of probation, and more than $47,000 in restitution.
Katherym Feo-Rodriguez, 46, of Manitowoc, was convicted after entering no-contest pleas to theft by false representation and forgery-related charges, according to Seehafer News.
Wisconsin Law Journal, carrying a USA Today Network report, said the victim told police that money had been taken under the guise of preparing and filing taxes.
Police found that Feo-Rodriguez ultimately took more than $42,000 from the victim through false payments or by withholding tax refund checks and depositing them into her own account, according to the report.
The Victim Thought Taxes Were Being Filed
A Manitowoc woman charged with embezzling several thousands of dollars from a local business has been convicted. https://t.co/N5F0QfFNSd
— Seehafer News (@SeehaferNews) June 16, 2026
The victim told police they were friends with Feo-Rodriguez and had an arrangement for her to file personal and business taxes in exchange for discounted services from the Manitowoc business, Wisconsin Law Journal reported.
Seehafer News identified the business as Darcy Woo Grooming and said the owner hired Feo-Rodriguez in 2019 to handle personal and business taxes.
According to the complaint summarized by Wisconsin Law Journal, the victim believed Feo-Rodriguez had prepared and filed personal and business taxes with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue and the Internal Revenue Service for tax years 2018 through 2023.
Agents with both the Wisconsin DOR and the IRS told police the victim’s personal and business taxes were either filed late or not filed at all, the report said.
Investigators Found Money Going Somewhere Else
Seehafer News reported that Feo-Rodriguez filed the business’s 2018 through 2020 individual tax returns late and did not file returns for 2021 and 2022.
The local report also said $43,000 was transferred from the victim’s account to Feo-Rodriguez’s account, while only $1,780 was used to pay the business’s taxes.
Wisconsin Law Journal reported a slightly different framing from the complaint: police found that Feo-Rodriguez ultimately took more than $42,000 either through false payments or by withholding tax refund checks and depositing them into her own account.
The Prison Sentences Were Withheld
During a June 12 plea and sentencing hearing in Manitowoc County Circuit Court, Feo-Rodriguez was convicted of felony theft and one count of felony forgery, according to Wisconsin Law Journal.
Two other forgery charges were dismissed. Seehafer News reported that the dismissed forgery charges were read into the record.
Judge Robert Dewane sentenced Feo-Rodriguez to three and a half years in state prison on one count and three years in state prison on the other, Wisconsin Law Journal reported. Both prison sentences were withheld, and she was placed on probation for seven years.
She was also ordered to pay $47,484 in restitution to the victim.
She Cannot Prepare Taxes For Others
Seehafer News reported that Feo-Rodriguez cannot prepare taxes for anyone other than herself, cannot manage financial accounts other than her own, and cannot contact the victim or the business.
Wisconsin Law Journal reported that the probation terms also include counseling, maintaining employment, no contact with the victim except for restitution payments, and no tax preparation or management of financial accounts for anyone except herself and her husband.
The IRS tells taxpayers to choose paid preparers carefully and says paid preparers must sign returns and include a valid Preparer Tax Identification Number. The agency also has a process for reporting suspected tax return preparer fraud or misconduct.
The agency’s Taxpayer Advocate Service says victims of tax return preparer fraud should contact local police and file IRS Form 14157-A. In Manitowoc, the court order now bars Feo-Rodriguez from preparing taxes for others while she serves seven years of probation.