2 DuPage hotel owners charged with defrauding state

Two hotel owners from DuPage County and one from DeKalb are facing charges of defrauding the state out of more than $470,000 in tax revenue from eight hotels in the Chicago area, authorities said Tuesday.

The charges come in what Attorney General Lisa Madigan's office said was a crackdown on violations of the Hotel Operators' Occupation Tax Act, or HOOT.

Shashank Bhatt, 66, of Oak Brook and Kishore Chugh, 63, of Burr Ridge, were charged with filing a fraudulent HOOT return and wire fraud. Both are felonies punishable by up to two to five years in prison.

Madigan's office said the two are accused of underreporting roughly $3.5 million in revenue, which should have generated $354,076 in taxes for the state. The two operate hotels in Alsip, Oak Lawn, Worth, Matteson, Lyons and Chicago.

A third man, Jagdishchandra Parikh, 59, of DeKalb, was charged with failing to file HOOT returns, a felony punishable by two to five years in prison. Parikh failed to disclose more than $2 million in sales generated by two hotels in DeKalb and Ogle counties, Madigan's office said, costing the state roughly $120,000 in revenue.

Bhatt and Chugh posted bond, which was set at $100,000 each, and their next court date is scheduled for Jan. 11. Parikh's next court appearance is scheduled for Jan. 12.