Former owner of Illinois gas stations sentenced in tax case

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - Federal prosecutors say a New Jersey man who owned four Illinois gas stations has been sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.5 million for underreporting sales on federal corporate and Illinois sales tax returns.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says in a news release that 35-year-old Adnan Rashid of Edison was sentenced this week. He pleaded guilty to the federal mail fraud and tax evasion charges in December.

Prosecutors say Rashid admitted he altered the receipt data from the gas stations in Peoria before he provided that information to his accountant. Authorities say he owed taxes on more than $41 million in unreported gross receipts for the gas stations and $1 million in unreported personal income.

He is scheduled to begin serving his sentence in May.