Downers Grove man pleads guilty in tax fraud case

Federal prosecutors secured a guilty plea from a former Downers Grove businessman who did not file personal income tax returns for nearly a decade.

Stephen Keefe, 47, was one of several tax fraud-related cases federal prosecutors touted on Tax Day 2019.

Keefe, who owned Stephen Keefe Construction and S. Keefe Construction, admitted in the plea deal that he willfully failed to file income tax returns from 2010 through 2017. During that time, prosecutors said, Keefe received more than $2 million in taxable income. His failure to file cost the federal and state government nearly $380,000 in tax revenue.

Keefe's sentencing is slated for June 28.

Authorities also touted the results of another tax prosecution that landed a Marengo man in prison for six months.

Peter Konopka, 72, was sentenced in December and ordered to repay $189,837.

Konopka was president of Illinois-based Solarcrete Energy Efficient Building Systems and filed false bankruptcy statements that concealed company assets. Additionally, prosecutors said, he failed to report personal income in 2011.

Federal prosecutors are also pursuing tax-related charges against a 51-year-old Country Club Hills accountant who is accused of falsifying personal income tax returns. Additionally, a 48-year-old Chicago man who filed fake income tax returns and netted $900,000 was convicted last week, authorities said. Jermaine Jackson is slated for sentencing in July.