Tobacco seller pays $250,000 in tax fraud case

A Buffalo man was sentenced to three years on probation for selling cigarettes and other tobacco products without paying New York excise taxes.

Anthony Mansour, 29, had his plea reduced from Class B felony tax fraud to a Class D felony this week after he paid $250,000 in restitution to the state.

Mansour was charged in June 2015 with first degree criminal tax fraud, possession of counterfeit New York cigarette tax stamps and possession of tobacco products without paying the required tax. The case was prosecuted by the State Attorney General's Office.

He initially was accused of illegally bringing $2.5 million worth of tobacco products into the state from Pennsylvania and not paying $1.9 million in taxes on the subsequent sales. However, this week state prosecutors accepted the $250,000 in full satisfaction of the restitution.

http://buffalonews.com/2016/10/26/tobacco-seller-pays-250000-tax-fraud-case/