In the first case in the US state of Massachusetts to be sentenced for selling untaxed condiments, the owner was sentenced to six months in prison for $467,000 in tax evasion, violating a 2020 law banning condiments altogether.
First U.S. prison sentence for flavored tobacco ban in Massachusetts
According to a recent press release from the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office and the Department of Revenue in Middlesex. Massachusetts, the owner of a vape shop in Marlborough pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted tax evasion and was sentenced to six months in a correctional facility and five years of probation.
2020 Massachusetts became the first state to ban all flavored tobacco products. While violating this ban is only a misdemeanor, because flavored tobacco products are sold on the illegal market, sellers are also violating state tax laws, which can lead to harsher penalties. In Massachusetts, evading taxes on tobacco products is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Store owner sentenced to six months in jail
Marburg’s case is the first to end in a guilty plea and criminal sentence. Prosecutors allege the owner, who ran a vape shop, “routinely” purchased vapes from out-of-state distributors between 2020 and 2022, evading $467,000 in taxes. The minutes of the 2022 Marburg Health Board meeting show that the store sold flavored products on several occasions. For example, in December 2021, a tobacco control manager saw flavored tobacco products for sale in a store and found 300 single-use flavored vapes. In March 2022, the Marlborough Police Department was sent to investigate suspicious activity in the store’s parking lot, where they found customers who could buy flavored vapes and pay with cash. The violations resulted in thousands of dollars in fines and the revocation of the store’s business license to sell nicotine and tobacco products.
The case could be the first to result in a prison sentence for selling condiments that were not taxed, according to reports. In addition, there are at least many felony prosecutions underway, with more cases likely in the future.
