One of the most prominent names in the distribution of cigars has settled a high-profile tax evasion case with the U.S. government. The Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced that New Jersey-based House of Oxford Distributors Inc. and its officers will forfeit more than $13.6 million worth of cash, property, jewelry, artwork and luxury automobiles as part of a settlement regarding allegations of tax evasion in California. The DOJ and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives (ATF) claim that House of Oxford falsified billing statements to show that products that went to California actually went to other states, shipped to states close to California knowing product was going to cross the border without taxes being paid and shipped to addresses in California that were not licensed to received tobacco. All this was in an effort to allegedly avoid California’s excise tax on other tobacco products, which currently stands at 28.95 percent. “Today’s forfeiture is the latest result of the collaborative effort of federal and state investigators and prosecutors into systematic tax evasion in the distribution of tobacco products in California,” said United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner. “We have obtained criminal convictions of 23 persons in this ...
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