Suburban Chicago Woman Charged With Filing False Income Tax Returns With the Internal Revenue Service

CHICAGO — An Orland Park resident and owner of a sandwich shop in Plainfield has been charged with three counts of filing a false tax return.  

Per the information, HEYAM P. MALICK, 64, of Orland Park knowingly filed false tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service between the years 2016 to 2020.  Malick was the owner and sole employee of Smiley’s Gyros and Beef, located in Plainfield.  As charged in the information, Malick is accused of under reporting her income from the business by more than $725,000 over three years.

The charge is announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois and Justin Campbell, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Peabody.

The public is reminded that an information contains only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  The charge of tax fraud carries a possible sentence of up to three years in federal prison on each count.  If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.