Illegal Imports of Chinese Cigarettes, Evasion of Taxes Could Yield Prison and Penalties

The Department of Justice reports that a California man faces up to five years in prison, restitution, and monetary penalties after pleading guilty to illegally importing tobacco products. The man admitted that for nearly five years he used several addresses to receive 15,128 cartons of Chinese-brand cigarettes despite not holding a permit to import tobacco products. He also failed to pay more than $467,000 in federal and state excise taxes on those cigarettes.