State Crime Reports

Attorney General Madigan: Pekin Business Owner Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud


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Chicago —(ENEWSPF)–November 17, 2016.  Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced that a Tazewell County business owner pleaded guilty to defrauding the state out of more than $600,000.

Hisham M. Jaber, 40, of Pekin, pleaded guilty to filing fraudulent tax returns and was sentenced to three years in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC). Jaber was also ordered to pay over $640,000 to the Illinois Department of Revenue (IDOR).

In 2015, Madigan’s office charged Jaber with filing fraudulent sales tax returns and filing fraudulent corporate income tax returns connected with his business, H&M Investments Inc. (H&M). Through H&M, Jaber operated two retail tobacco stores – Smoker’s Paradise One, 505 S. Parkway Dr. in Pekin, and Smoker’s Paradise Two, 631 N. Main St. in Canton. Between January 2008 and January 2013, Jaber underreported more than $8 million in sales, defrauding the state out of over $640,000 in state tax revenue.

“For years this defendant illegally pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in state sales tax money, diminishing resources for necessary state programs,” Madigan said.

The investigation was conducted by the Illinois Department of Revenue’s (IDOR) Criminal Investigations Division.

“Ensuring that required state taxes are collected is a core mission of Revenue and provides a level playing field for all taxpayers,” said Connie Beard, Director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. “I applaud the hard work of our Criminal Investigations Division and the Attorney General in this case.”

Assistant Attorneys General Eugene Bian and Gregory Stucka handled the case for Madigan’s Special Prosecutions Bureau.

Source: http://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov


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