Two area gas station owners could face up to five years in prison for allegedly withholding thousands in sales tax from the state of Illinois.
Abdelmomen Abdallah, 33, of Peoria and Dineshbhai Patel, 57, Morton, both face 16 counts of sales tax fraud. A $10,000 arrest warrant was issued for Abdallah last week while Patel was arrested Thursday, just hours after a news conference in Chicago, where Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the result of the operation.
The state’s top prosecutor said overall, $12.7 million has been recovered from unpaid sales tax while six people, including Patel and Abdallah, have been indicted statewide.
“Tax evaders, those who have broken the law, will not be tolerated,” Madigan said.
By not paying their taxes, owners who filed to file proper reports, were “pocketing millions of dollars that should have been going to the state,” she said.
Madigan said the investigation is continuing, and charges are likely against others within the next several months.
John Chambers, the head of criminal investigations for the state Department of Revenue, said the station owners would underreport their sales, thus lowering the amount of money they owed to state coffers.
“In other words, they were collecting sales tax and then putting a portion of that money into their own pocket,” he said. “We gave every gas station an opportunity to file amended returns and pay back the sales tax they owed. Only a few accepted that offer.”
The Attorney General’s Office has not provided specifics on the allegations, saying only that both men are accused of withholding more than $300 on each of the 16 counts, which represent when the two men allegedly reported false sales figures.
The charges are felonies that carry a two- to five-year prison range or up to 30 months of probation.
Abdallah, who operates the Road Runner station, 2412 N. Sheridan Road, is accused of not paying his taxes from November 2007 through February 2009. Patel, who operates the Shell gas station, 2009 S. Main St., in Morton, is accused of not paying his taxes from July 2007 until October 2009.
The statewide investigation began in 2008 after the Department of Revenue and the Attorney General’s Office received tips on sales tax fraud.
