LAKE IN THE HILLS, IL — A 53-year-old Lake In The Hills resident who owned 11 Denny’s residents defrauded the state of Illinois out of more than $3 million in sales tax and has pleaded guilty to criminal charges, officials announced on Wednesday.
Kenneth Kilberger was sentenced to spend four years in prison after he pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges, the Illinois Attorney General’s Office announced on Wednesday. He was also ordered to pay $25,000 in fines and must also pay all court costs, officials said.
Attorney General Kwame Raoul said that Kilberger evaded taxes on the 11 restaurants he owns and operates around Illinois. Raoul alleges that between January 2016 and October 2020, Kilberger under-reported his restaurant’s sales by an estimated $42 million, which cut the state out of more than $3 million in sales tax, Raoul’s office announced.
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Business owners who defraud the state out of tax revenues harm their communities by depriving needed programs and services of funding,” Raoul said in a news release. “I commend the Illinois Department of Revenue for its work on this case and am committed to our continued collaboration in recovering critical revenue and holding accountable the individuals who attempt to defraud the state.”
The investigation was conducted by the Illinois Department of Revenue’s Criminal Investigation Division through an initiative targeting sales tax evasion and theft of government funds. Since the conclusion of the investigation, Kilberger has paid all back taxes owed to the IDOR, officials said.
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“Individuals who falsify sales taxes are not just stealing from the state, but also from the residents who rely on the important programs and services that tax revenue provides,” Illinois Department of Revenue Director David Harris said in the release. “I congratulate and appreciate the continued partnership of the Department of Revenue’s Bureau of Criminal Investigations and the Attorney General’s Office as we continue to work together to hold these individuals accountable.”
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