From: Triangle Business Journal
A Florida tobacco manufacturer’s illegal cigarette sales operation means a $2.2 million payout for North Carolina – but it didn’t come without a fight with the feds.
The owners of Belcorp Tobacco pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to violate the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act, as well as to commit fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud and other crimes related to illegal cigarette sales. But, using a forfeiture order in the case, the federal government seized millions of dollars from the company, initially leaving the states without the payout.
