Irfan Sami, Tobacco Tax Fraud, Massachusetts 2014

A Scranton, Pa. man has been brought to justice for his role in a multi-state scheme to defraud Massachusetts and Connecticut of tax revenue relating to cigars and smokeless tobacco.

Irfan Sami, 46, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Springfield to charges relating to tobacco tax evasion. Sami had been charged in November 2014.

According to court documents, Sami helped wholesale businesses in Springfield and Attleboro, Mass., Danbury, Hamden, and Berlin, Conn. evade state tobacco taxes. Working from a warehouse in Scranton, Sami helped his employer create fake invoices that would be used to make false tobacco tax filings that vastly understated the amount of tobacco tax due.

The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000. Each count of wire fraud provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz announced the guilty plea, along with other federal officials. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex J. Grant and Veronica M. Lei.

Sami is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24, 2015, before U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni.

The investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service's Criminal Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/scranton-man-pleads-guilty-tobacco-tax-fraud