Battle Lake couple charged with felony tax crimes, business faces allegations
Margaret Haviland got five years' probation after pleading guilty to two of 70 felony tax charges tied to Granny's Pantry and years of missed returns.
Margaret F. Haviland was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay restitution after pleading guilty to two of 70 felony tax charges tied to Battle Lake’s Granny’s Pantry, closing a case that alleged years of missed tax filings and payments in Otter Tail County.
The Minnesota Department of Revenue said on Feb. 17, 2023, that the Otter Tail County Attorney’s Office had charged both Margaret F. Haviland and Terry Allen Haviland with five felony counts of failing to file individual income tax returns and five felony counts of failing to pay individual income tax. The department said Margaret Haviland also faced additional charges connected to Granny’s Pantry, including sales and use tax filing issues.
Valley News Live later reported that the complaints covered tax years 2017 through 2021, putting the allegations over a five-year span. That timeline matters in a town like Battle Lake, where a long-running business is part of the local retail mix and where customers expect the same compliance from a candy shop as from any other storefront that collects and remits Minnesota taxes.
Granny’s Pantry has been described as a popular Battle Lake candy store, and its name has long been familiar in the community. A business tied to felony tax allegations can affect more than the owners’ finances. It can also shape how customers view the shop, how competing merchants view fair play, and how residents judge whether a well-known hometown business has met its obligations.
On July 8, 2024, Margaret Haviland pleaded guilty to two of the 70 felony charges against her as part of a plea agreement that dismissed the other 68 counts and avoided a full trial. She was sentenced on Sept. 6, 2024, to probation and restitution, moving the case from criminal allegation into court supervision and repayment.
Granny’s Pantry remained listed as a Battle Lake business with a storefront at 106 N. Lake Ave., and recent online activity showed it was still drawing attention well after the criminal case began. For Otter Tail County, the case put a familiar local shop under a public legal spotlight and underscored how tax compliance touches both county enforcement and the everyday trust that keeps small businesses competitive.
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