Pittsfield Man Pleads Guilty to Marijuana and Tax Offenses

BOSTON – A Pittsfield man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield to marijuana and tax offenses. 

Jacob Sweener, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and two counts of filing a false tax return. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for June 21, 2021. 

Sweener admitted that from 2013 to January 2017 he conspired with others to distribute marijuana. On Jan. 10, 2017, 41 pounds of marijuana and over $69,000 in cash were seized during a search of his home. Sweener also filed false income tax returns for 2014 and 2015 by substantially under-reporting his income by more than $300,000 and failing to pay more than $90,000 that he owed in federal income taxes. 

The charges of conspiracy to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute marijuana each provide for a sentence of up to five years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and forfeiture. The charge of filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Nathaniel R. Mendell; Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Department of Justice’s Tax Division; Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; William S. Walker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; and Brian D. Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex J. Grant of Mendell’s Springfield Branch Office and Trial Attorney Christopher O’Donnell of the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.