KC judge orders company to pay $3.5 million for illegal cigarette sales
A federal judge in Kansas City on Friday ordered the operators of a New York smoke shop to pay more than $3.5 million for trafficking in contraband cigarettes.
The store was among several companies and individuals charged in federal court in Kansas City with conspiring to ship millions of packs of cigarettes from Missouri to New York without paying New York’s $4.35 state excise tax for a pack of cigarettes.
New York’s cigarette tax is the highest in the country, while Missouri has the nation’s lowest at 17 cents per pack. More than 200,000 cartons of cigarettes were illegally shipped, prosecutors said.
Friday’s order was part of a plea agreement with the company, TSNE, which does business as Jan’s Smoke Shop in Basom, N.Y.
For its guilty plea to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, the company agreed to forfeit $700,000 in profits, pay a fine of $950,000 and pay the state of New York $1.9 million restitution for lost tax revenue.
According to documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, all of the money has been paid.
To reach Tony Rizzo, call 816-234-4435 or send email to trizzo@kcstar.com.
This story was originally published June 5, 2015 at 1:01 PM.