SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Five people have been indicted by a Sacramento County grand jury on charges of selling tobacco without a license and committing tax fraud that allegedly cost California over $24 million in lost revenue.
The 118-count indictment includes charges of conspiracy, illegal tobacco sales, filing false tax returns and money laundering. It says the alleged crimes happened in Sacramento, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside counties.
According to prosecutors, between January 2017 and April 2024, the suspects allegedly imported untaxed tobacco products into California using shell entities, then sold the products without paying the required excise tax. Investigators say they used fraudulent business practices to mislead customers, conceal shipments and hide the source of funds used for purchasing untaxed tobacco…