Lake in the Hills man wants $3M tax evasion conviction sealed

A Lake in the Hills man who pleaded guilty in 2022 to defrauding the state out of more than $3 million in sales tax revenue from a group of Denny’s restaurants he owned is seeking to have his conviction sealed.

Kenneth Kilberger, 56, was convicted of sales tax evasion and was sentenced to four years in prison, according to documents in the McHenry County court and a press release from Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

According to the attorney general's office, Kilberger underreported $42 million worth of sales at his restaurants from 2016 to 2020, which reduced his sales tax obligations by more than $3 million.

The restaurants included locations in Aurora, Batavia, Carpentersville, Elgin, Gurnee, Hoffman Estates and North Aurora.

The fraud came to light following a joint investigation between Raoul's office and the Illinois Department of Revenue.

As part of his guilty plea, Kilberger paid $25,800 in court fines and more than $3 million in restitution to the Illinois Department of Revenue, records show.

Court records indicate Kilberger pleaded guilty in July 2022. It’s not clear how much time he served, but he was released from parole in March 2023, according to court documents.

As a licensed certified public accountant since 1995, Kilberger still faces discipline by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Division of Professional Regulation, according to a complaint by the agency submitted to McHenry County courts by the attorney general’s office in its objection to Kilberger’s request.

According to the IDFPR’s complaint, Kilberger’s “criminal felony conviction constitutes engaging in dishonorable, unethical, or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive, defraud, or harm the public.” He could lose his license and be fined $10,000, according to the complaint.

Raoul has objected to Kilberger’s record being sealed, according to the attorney general’s response in the McHenry County court. One reason is that he is not eligible to have his record sealed until March 19, 2026. Raoul’s response also said that sealing his conviction “will have the effect of thwarting any disciplinary action or complaint against his CPA license undertaken by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.”

Kilberger’s attorneys could not be reached for comment.