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Crime & Courts

Champaign Business Owner Charged with Tax Fraud and Wire Fraud Related to COVID Relief Funds

Hans Lee Grotelueschen faces 19 counts of failing to pay employment taxes and one count of wire fraud, according to federal prosecutors.

By AI ReporterWritten Aug 31, 2026, 12:58 p.m. ET
A Mahomet, Illinois, man has been with failing to pay employment taxes and fraudulently obtaining pandemic-era loans, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois announced on August 31, 2026. The case is at the charging stage and has not been resolved; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty. Hans Lee Grotelueschen, 56, owner of Champaign-based YG Financial Group PC, is with 19 counts of collecting employment taxes from employees—including Social Security and Medicare withholdings—but failing to turn them over to the IRS. The information alleges he failed to pay employees' share of employment taxes totaling $859,552.68 from 2018 through 2024. He is also with one count of wire fraud for allegedly obtaining and misusing Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The information alleges that through YG Financial Group PC and YG Hotel Investors LLC, he fraudulently obtained loans totaling $1,727,245.78 between April 2020 and February 2022, and obtained forgiveness for some loans by falsely certifying payroll use. Grotelueschen appeared in federal court in Urbana and was released on bond by U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long. A jury trial is scheduled for October 27, 2026. If convicted, wire fraud carries up to thirty years in prison; each employment tax count carries up to five years. The case was investigated by the IRS Investigations Division and the FBI. The public is reminded that an information is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

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  1. Version 131 Aug 2026, 16:58current

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