A $4.5 million settlement has been reached between the state, 13 Chicago-area gas stations and two gas station owners for sales tax fraud.
Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office announced the settlement Friday.
“This settlement is another warning to business owners considering ripping off Illinois residents and the state by failing to pay their taxes,” Madigan said in a statement. “Cheating the state out of millions of taxpayer dollars will not be tolerated.”
A lawsuit filed by Madigan’s office alleged that since 2002, the gas station owners submitted false monthly sales tax returns to the Illinois Department of Revenue, the statement said. Ten of the gas stations are still in operation and are owned by George Nediyakalayil. A second defendant, Tito Kandarapallil, co-owns one of the gas stations with Nediyakalayil.
The gas stations involved in the suit were located at:
3216 W. North Ave., Stone Park
4401 N. Harlem Ave., Norridge
Local
1551 W. North Ave., Chicago
2474 Thatcher Ave., River Grove
2401 Lincoln Hwy., Olympia Fields
1768 W. Armitage Ave., Chicago
2800 W. Fullerton Ave., Chicago
4000 W. Peterson Ave., Chicago
3200 N. Kimball Ave., Chicago
1200 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
3968 W. Belmont Ave., Chicago
800 W. Touhy Ave., Des Plaines
7850 S. Martin Luther King Dr., Chicago