New York Tax Officials Seize Fake Cigarette Tax Stamps Worth $6.1 Million

New York State tax officials announced last week they have seized counterfeit cigarette tax stamps with a total face value of $6.1 million from a Jordanian national, Rafea Al-Nablisi, who was arrested as part of a larger cigarette smuggling investigation. In addition to the counterfeit tax stamps for New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Kentucky, investigators recovered more than 100 cartons of counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes made in China, the Associated Press reports.  Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said New York loses hundreds of millions of dollars each year as a result of this type of fraud.

State excise tax investigator Marybeth Cherubino, the lead agent on the case, said that in addition to dealing in counterfeit tax stamps, Al-Nablisi purchased 375,000 packs of untaxed cigarettes in February 2008 from undercover investigators who posed as tobacco distributors. Al-Nablisi also offered tax stamps, costing $3 each in New York City, $1.50 in the rest of the State and $2.57 in New Jersey, to the undercover agents for just 4.5 cents a piece.

Prosecutors noted that the Chinese-made counterfeits are more harmful than legally-made cigarettes, as they contain higher levels of toxins, including heavy metals and lead. State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Robert L. Megna said his agency has intensified its campaign against smuggled and counterfeit cigarette trade over the past year.