Oct. 26—The Free Press

HANSKA — Charges filed against a Hanska woman accuse her of underreporting sales from her dog breeding business to avoid paying taxes.

Jana Marie Makela, 43, faces six felonies for allegedly filing fraudulent tax returns and six felonies for allegedly failing to pay taxes. The charges have to do with both sales and income taxes.

Makela was charged Oct. 12 in Brown County District Court, and the Minnesota Department of Revenue sent out a news release on the charges Tuesday.

An investigator from the department began investigating Makela and her business, BrookeMarie's Goldendoodle Love over alleged tax violations in March, according to a criminal complaint.

A review of Makela's bank, Venmo and PayPal transactions and tax filings led the investigator to conclude she underreported her income by $249,812 between 2019 and 2021. The amount she owed in income and sales taxes over the three years reportedly totaled $20,843.

The business primarily bred and sold goldendoodles and bernedoodles. The investigator reported reviewing the business' Facebook page and finding 10 litters and 86 total puppies in 2020 and 13 litters and 102 puppies in 2021.

Goldendoodle puppies were priced at $2,500, according to the complaint, while bernedoodles were priced at $3,500.

A message left on the phone number listed for the business went unreturned as of publication time.

Makela's first appearance in Brown County District Court is scheduled for Nov. 21.

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