From: MassLive.com
By Conor Berry
BOSTON — A tobacco wholesaler with ties to Springfield is accused of robbing Connecticut and Massachusetts of $43 million in tobacco tax revenue.
Syed I. Bokhari, 50, of Middletown, Connecticut, is the subject of a 32-count indictment involving charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, money laundering, trafficking in contraband smokeless tobacco, and violating the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act, according to U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.
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Daniel Kumor, special agent in charge of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in Boston, said “the illegal diversion of tobacco
products will not be tolerated.” Such illegal activity results in the loss of “tens of millions of dollars in state tax revenue,” he added.
Bruce Foucart, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Security Investigations in Boston, said smuggling tobacco to evade taxes is a multimillion-dollar industry. “It cheats the government … by fueling an underground economy,” he said.
