Six People Face Fines, Max 20 Years for Smuggling Vietnamese Cigarettes by Mail
Six people were indicted in federal court Friday for operating a smuggling ring that illegally imported cigarettes from Vietnam, said Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. The 18-count indictment alleges the six defendants conspired between July 2010 and May 2012 to fraudulently import, receive, possess, conceal, buy and sell contraband cigarettes from Vietnam, said ICE, and the charges carry possible maximum penalties varying from 5 to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine (per count charged), three years of supervised release, and special assessment fees.
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Those arrested were: Teo Van Phan, Nhu Van Phan (aka Nhu Phan), Hoa Van Huhyn (aka Wha Huynh), Kim Nguyen (aka Kim Thoa), Tang (Janny) Nguyen (aka Thi Nguyen) and Thuy Nguyen. All the defendants are residents of the Lincoln, Neb. area.
ICE Alleges Tax Fraud, Mail Fraud
Court documents charge the group with attempting to evade federal and state taxes on the imported cigarettes (fraud), and with using the mail to import the cigarettes and evade taxes (mail fraud). ICE said the indictment also alleges the defendants directed packages of cigarettes, that bore no evidence of payment of taxes, be sent through international and U.S. Mail to Lincoln addresses; and that they then sold and distributed the untaxed cigarettes within the District of Nebraska. Many packages of the contraband cigarettes were labeled as gifts or presents, according to ICE.
Of specific note, Kim Nguyen and Tang (Janny) Nguyen were charged with shipping, transporting, receiving and possessing more than 10,000 contraband cigarettes on dates in both December 2011 and March 2012, said ICE.