BOSTON – In a shocking turn of events, Kamlesh Patel, 60, a Pennsylvania wholesale tobacco distributor, has agreed to plead guilty to aiding and abetting untaxed shipments of tobacco products into Massachusetts and evading financial reporting requirements.
Patel, owner of RDK Distributors and MV Distributors in Stroudsburg, Penn., distributed wholesale quantities of cigars, smoking tobacco and smokeless tobacco to a Norwood-based customer, often worth more than $100,000 at a time. To evade financial reporting requirements, Patel falsely divided among multiple invoices the bulk cash payments he received, creating and instructing his employees to record the large cash payments as if there had been numerous sales over numerous days among numerous companies, each less than $10,000.
The charge of structuring cash transactions to evade financial reporting requirements provides for a sentence of no greater than 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $500,000 and forfeiture. The charge of aiding and abetting violation of the PACT Act provides for a sentence of no greater than three years in prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.
Patel’s actions were a blatant disregard for the laws that regulate the sale of tobacco products between states. The Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT Act) requires people who sell, advertise for sale, transfer or ship for profit smokeless tobacco between states to file a statement with the Attorney General and the tobacco tax administrator in the states to which they ship their products.
The Massachusetts Department of Revenue also provided valuable assistance in the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Heymann of the Economic Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb and Joel P. Garland, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston, made the announcement today. This is a significant victory for law enforcement and a reminder that those who engage in such activities will be held accountable.
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Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|Violent Crime|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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