Hogansburg, Ny Man Charged With Shipping And Possessing Contraband Cigarettes

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051
 
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Ian Tarbell, 43, of Hogansburg, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession of contraband cigarettes, failing to maintain information about the shipment, sale and distribution of more than 10,000 cigarettes and refusing to pay and evading the payment of a tax. The charges carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and a fine of $250,000.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell T. Ippolito, Jr., who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, the defendant was arrested on February 16, 2016 in Pembroke, NY following a traffic stop by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office. Tarbell was operating a truck that was pulling a trailer containing untaxed and unstamped cigarettes. In total, the defendant is accused of shipping and transporting more than 900,000 unstamped and untaxed cigarettes.

Tarbell made an initial appearance this morning before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael J. Roemer and was released on $100,000 bond.

The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Gary Maha, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Delano A. Reid, Special Agent in Charge, new York Field Division.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.