From: AP
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — A businessman convicted in a cigarette smuggling case has agreed to pay restitution totaling more than $5 million to Virginia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania and New York City.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Heaphy says 50-year-old Vijay N. Patel of Fredericksburg also will forfeit $625,000.
Patel pleaded guilty Friday in federal court in Charlottesville to one count of conspiracy to violate the federal Contraband Cigarette Smuggling Act. Sentencing is set for May 14.
Patel and two co-defendants, Pullin P. Amin and Diveshkumar Desai of Fredericksburg, were accused of buying cigarettes from legitimate sources and then selling them to traffickers. The cigarettes were taken outside Virginia for resale.
Amin and Desai pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in December and agreed to pay restitution and forfeitures. Their sentencings are set for April and May.
