KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Independence, Mo., business owner and a Wichita, Kan., attorney are among 18 defendants who have been indicted by a federal grand jury in a more than $17 million, multi-state conspiracy to transport hundreds of thousands of cartons of contraband cigarettes from the Kansas City, Mo., area to the state of New York, where they were sold primarily on Indian reservations.
Craig Sheffler, 43, the owner of Cheap Tobacco Wholesale, a cigarette wholesale business in Independence, and Harry Najim, 65, a partner in the Adams Jones Law Firm, P.A., in Wichita, were charged in a 44-count indictment returned under seal by a federal grand jury in Kansas City, Mo., on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2013. That indictment was unsealed and made public today upon the arrests and initial court appearances of several defendants.
The federal indictment alleges that each of the defendants participated in a conspiracy to commit wire fraud and traffic in contraband cigarettes from July 2010 to Jan. 26, 2012.
According to the indictment, Craig Sheffler and Gholamreza “Reza” Tadaiyon purchased $17,345,610 worth of contraband cigarettes from undercover ATF agents during the undercover operation. Approximately 620,600 cartons of cigarettes – containing 10 packs per carton – were transported to New York without paying the required $4.35 per pack excise tax. The untaxed cigarettes were sold by New York retailers and smoke shops on the reservations in the state of New York. The total state excise tax lost to the state of New York was approximately $8,148,420.
“When unscrupulous companies traffic in contraband cigarettes, they are stealing from the public through millions of dollars in lost tax revenue,” said Tammy Dickinson, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. “They also create an illegal and unfair advantage over legitimate businesses that follow the law. When they don’t pay the excise tax on their cigarettes, they are able to unfairly undercut the prices charged by off-reservation retailers.”
The defendants are:
- Craig Sheffler, 43, of Independence, Mo.
- Craig Sheffler is the owner of Cheap Tobacco Wholesale, a cigarette wholesale business in Independence.
- Harry Najim, 65, of Wichita, Kan.
- Hajim is a partner in the Adams Jones Law Firm, P.A., in Wichita.
- Gholamreza “Reza” Tadaiyon, 50, of Weston, Fla.
- Tadaiyon owns Brand Name Connoisseurs, Corp., a business located in Florida.
- Nicole Sheffler, 35, of Independence, Mo.
- Teddy Frenchman, 39, of Winnebago, Neb.
- AJ’s Candy & Tobacco, LLC
- William F. Parry, 52, of Irving, N.Y.
- Tara Sundown, 48, of Basom, N.Y.
- Philip Christ, 54, of Hamburg, N.Y.
- Salvatore Tornabene, 44, of Hamburg, N.Y.
- Gerald E. Barber, 67, of Virginia
- Mousa Juma, 62, of Chesapeake, Va.
- T. Cameron Jones, 57, of Quilcene, Wash.
- Piotr Hoffmann, 39, Mark Bishop, 39, and David Bishop, 43, all of Montreal, Canada.
The indictment was the result of an undercover operation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which resulted in a $3.5 million civil forfeiture and a non-prosecution agreement that requires a Winnebago, Neb. company to pay a $300,000 penalty.
Defendant: Craig Sheffler
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and traffic in contraband cigarettes
City and State: Independence, Missouri
Arrest Date: None listed, but indicted on Aug. 12, 2013
Outcome: None listed, case still pending
Dollar Amounts: $17,345,610 in contraband cigarettes purchased, $8,148,420 in state excise tax lost
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Key Facts
- State: Missouri
- Category: White Collar Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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