Illinois man gets prison for $1.2M employment tax fraud

A 55-year-old Illinois man was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for failing to pay employment taxes.

U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller sentenced George Dilles of Inverness, Illinois, to 15 months in prison after he pled guilty to one count of failure to truthfully account for and pay employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service. He also ordered Dilles to pay more than $1.2 million in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release

According to court records, Dilles was president and part owner of NG Enterprises, Inc. (d.b.a. Visiting Angels,) a company that provided elderly home personal care in the Milwaukee area and employed between 50 to 110 workers. Dilles was required to withhold federal income taxes. Social Security taxes and Medicare taxes from his employees’ wages, hold them in trust and pay them over to the IRS.

Additionally, he was responsible for filing quarterly tax returns (Forms 941) reporting those amounts to the IRS and for paying the employer’s matching portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes.

For 17 quarters from 2019 through 2023, Dilles willfully failed to file employment tax returns and pay over taxes to the IRS of more than $1.2 million. He used some of the funds on personal expenses, including mortgage payments and the purchases of a Maserati and a McLaren. He also used employment tax returns, which he had not filed with the IRS, to obtain a Paycheck Protection Program loan in the amount of $312,500.

Judge Stadtmueller emphasized the serious nature of Dilles’ conduct at his sentencing, emphasizing the substantial loss to the IRS, and the need to provide adequate deterrence to others who might engage in similar conduct.

“This was not a mistake or oversight. The defendant was alerted by his accounting firm repeatedly that he needed to submit these tax payments but ignored the warnings and used the money to finance a luxurious lifestyle,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad D. Schimel.