NJ Man Jailed for $5.62M Cigarette Smuggling Scheme

New Jersey’s Eyad Salahedin, 40, was handed a five-year prison term yesterday for masterminding a multistate cigarette smuggling operation that funneled millions into his coffers. The 40-year-old Elmwood Park resident also faces three years of supervised release and must pay $5,622,021 in restitution.

Salahedin pleaded guilty on November 10, 2016, to orchestrating a scheme where he set up five fake Virginia businesses using his brother’s identity. These fictitious entities were then used to purchase over $9.6 million worth of cigarettes tax-free from Sam’s Club stores in Virginia.

The plot thickened as Salahedin created secondary memberships for Virginians and New Jerseyans, often under false pretenses, doling out cash and cigarette purchasing instructions. The contraband was ferried north to the Garden State and beyond, sold on the black market, and netted Salahedin $9,611,319.11 in criminal proceeds.

U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente and ICE Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Clark E. Settles announced the sentence after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne. The Washington–Baltimore HIDTA task force’s Northern Virginia Financial Initiative and New Jersey State Treasury’s Office of Criminal Investigations led the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas A. Garnett and Michael C. Moore prosecuted Salahedin, who was caught relying on aliases and stolen identities to carry out his illegal activities. Details of the case can be found on the Eastern District of Virginia’s website or PACER by searching for Case No. 3:16-cr-29.

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