By Connor Adams Sheets
Two men from Flushing and Jackson Heights have been arrested for allegedly running a cigarette smuggling ring that Queens District Attorney Richard Brown contends ripped off taxpayers in New York to the tune of almost $60,000.
Ben Chuan Chen, 37, of 136-19 60th Ave., and Luis Robert Liendo-Guillen, 56, of both 35-40 91st St. and Miami, Fla., were arrested June 15 along with Liu-Qin Feng of Manhattan in connection with the sale of untaxed cigarettes and possession of 900 cartons of illegal, untaxed cigarettes valued at about $100,000, and nearly $35,000 in cash, according to the DA.
The three defendants await arraignment in Queens Criminal Court on charges of criminal possession of a forged instrument, trademark counterfeiting and violations of New York state tax law. If convicted, they each face sentences of up to 15 years in prison.
“Cigarette smuggling to evade state and local taxes is a multimillion-dollar industry. It is a highly profitable, tax-free cash business for those involved in it,” Brown said in a statement. “However, it cheats taxpayers who must dip into their pockets to pay higher taxes. And it cheats the government as well by fueling an underground economy which does not pay much-needed state and city taxes. In today’s cases, it is estimated that the three defendants shortchanged New York state and New York City out of nearly $60,000 in tax revenue.”
Two search warrants were executed the morning of June 15 as part of an ongoing, long-term investigation into cigarette smuggling, Brown said. Investigators searched Chen’s residence in Flushing and a 2004 Honda minivan parked outside the home after police allegedly watched Feng and Chen — who was carrying a black plastic bag — leave the home and enter the vehicle, the DA said.
Police recovered 793 untaxed cartons of cigarettes, 431 counterfeit Virginia tax stamps and $33,231 in cash during the two searches, the DA said.
That same morning, police executed a search warrant as Liendo-Guillen left his residence with a black duffel bag, the DA said. The bag allegedly contained seven cartons of illegal cigarettes, and when they searched his house, police allegedly found 120 cartons of untaxed cigarettes, $7,000 in purchased but unendorsed U.S. Postal money orders and $1,456 in cash, according to the DA.
Some of the cigarettes confiscated from the defendants were counterfeit while others were legitimate products purchased and taxed in Virginia or had counterfeit Virginia tax stamps on them, the DA said.
The DA’s Crimes Against Revenues Unit has seized more than 1 million untaxed cigarettes so far this year.
Reach reporter Connor Adams Sheets by e-mail at csheets@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4538.
