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Longmeadow Man Sentenced for Tobacco Tax Fraud and Illegal Check-Cashing Business
A Longmeadow man was sentenced to one year of probation for his involvement in a tobacco tax fraud scheme and operating an illegal check-cashing business.
Satish Kumar, 67, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark. G. Mastroianni on September 15, 2022, in federal court in Springfield.
Kumar pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of money laundering in one case, and one count of failure to register a money transmitting business in the second case.
The tobacco tax fraud scheme occurred between 2006 and 2012, with Kumar purchasing a wholesale warehouse business in Berlin, Connecticut. He systematically evaded Connecticut state tobacco taxes, selling cigars and smokeless tobacco to convenience stores and gas stations, and paying just two percent of the tax owed. During the six-year scheme, Kumar and others helped to evade over $16 million in taxes owed to the state of Connecticut.
Kumar also owned a liquor store in Springfield, Massachusetts, that acted as an unregistered money transmitting business. He cashed checks without the required registration, despite warnings from his bank. Among the checks cashed were 195 United States Treasury tax refund checks worth approximately $1.2 million obtained through fraudulent returns filed with the IRS.
The cases were prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher L. Morgan and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Breslow of U.S. Attorney Rachael S. Rollins’ Springfield Branch Office.
The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue, the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services, and Homeland Security Investigations in New England.
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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