Bankruptcy-Seeking Hinsdale Wash Made Millions Last Year

HINSDALE, IL – The owners of Fuller's Car Wash in Hinsdale, which filed for bankruptcy in January, made more than $11 million from the sale of four other car washes last year, documents show.

On July 17, 2023, the Hinsdale wash was where a Fuller's employee driving a car struck 14-year-old Sean Patrick Richards, who was walking on the sidewalk. The driver then crossed the street and crashed into Fontano's restaurant, injuring customers. The boy died two days later.

As part of the bankruptcy, Fuller's, 102 Chicago Ave., released its 2024 audit. The document indicated Fuller's owners made $11.7 million in March 2024 by selling its car washes in Cicero, Elgin, Calumet City and Matteson.

In 2024, the business made $3 million in advances to the company's owners and $188,000 to a non-shareholder family member. None of that had been paid back as of Dec. 31, the end of the budget year.

The audit said the company had turned a lawsuit filed by Richards' family over to its insurer.

"The Company doesn't expect any substantial financial impact," the audit said.

In January, Fuller's filed for bankruptcy days before its owners were set to appear at depositions in the lawsuit.

Fuller's net income last year was $564,000, according to the audit.

Previous bankruptcy documents show the business owns 18 cars, many of them luxury models, including a Mercedes and a Cadillac Escalade.

The information showed that Fuller's owes a total of $452,000 for 14 of the cars.

For tax and bankruptcy purposes, those cars must be for business, not personal use.

In the 13 months before January's bankruptcy filing, the five co-owners received nearly $1.2 million in compensation and dividends from the Hinsdale business. The co-owners are Doug Fuller, Susan Groenwold, Ethan Fuller, Colin Fuller and Paula Fuller.

Besides Hinsdale, the car wash chain owns 17 other washes, according to its website.

Fuller's owners and their lawyer have not returned messages for comment.

Asked for comment last week, Richards' father, Brian Richards, said in a text, "I think the facts speak for themselves."

In his statement in January, Brian Richards referred to Fuller's history of crashes going back to 2007. That year, an unlicensed employee drove a car out of the car wash, across the sidewalk and two lanes of traffic, crashing and totaling a parked car.