Jack M. Cohen, Marijuana Importation, Vermont 2021

A Vermont man has been sentenced for his role in a large-scale marijuana smuggling operation.

Jack M. Cohen, 36, of Hyde Park, Vermont, was sentenced to a time-served period of imprisonment (approximately a day), and ordered to be subject to three years of supervised release. Cohen had pleaded guilty to importation into the United States of more than 50 kilograms of marijuana.

According to court records, Cohen was arrested on March 24, 2021, in the town of Canaan, Vermont, after he was stopped by a U.S. Border Patrol Agent along Route 114. Agents located and seized approximately 272 pounds of packaged marijuana in large duffle bags in the bed of Cohen’s truck.

Cohen had just left an unoccupied camp along Lake Wallace where he had met individuals at the international border with Canada; those individuals used snow machines towing sleds to carry the marijuana across the lake ice to the camp. The Court found that the enterprise involved at least 400 kilograms (882 pounds) of marijuana.

The case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol, with the lead investigator working from the Beecher Falls Border Patrol Station. Acting United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended Border Patrol’s investigative efforts.

Cohen was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven Barth. The prosecutor was Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Lasher.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that Cohen was sentenced following his guilty plea to importation into the United States of more than 50 kilograms of marijuana.

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