September 22, 2017
Posted September 22, 2017
Illinois announced a $4.5 million settlement to resolve a lawsuit under the Illinois False Claims Act against 13 Chicago-area gas stations and two gas station owners for sales tax fraud. The lawsuit alleged that since 2002, defendants submitted false monthly sales tax returns to the Illinois Department of Revenue, resulting in millions of dollars of lost tax revenue to the state. The lawsuit alleged defendants operated the scheme by underreporting general merchandise sales and using inaccurate sales tax reporting rates. Ten of the gas stations are currently in operation and are owned by George Nediyakalayil, and Tito Kandarapallil co-owns one of the gas stations with Nediyakalayil. IL