Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Fraud nets man 7 years

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Fraud nets man 7 years

    Fraud nets man 7 years

    He deprived state of $3.2M by smuggling cigarettes from North Carolina.

    By Max Zimbert


    Wednesday, April 28, 2010

    A Glendale resident who was convicted of cigarette fraud and tax evasion in
    April 2008 was sentenced Wednesday to more than seven years in a federal
    prison.

    Between January 2002 and June 2005, Avedis Djeredjian, now 41, bought more
    than 367,960 cartons of cigarettes from North Carolina without adequate tax
    stamps from California regulators, depriving California of $3.2 million in
    tax revenue, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

    U.S. District Court Judge George King also ordered Djeredjian to pay back
    more than $6.4 million. And upon completing his prison sentence, Djeredjian
    will have three years of parole.

    "With the outcome of this case, it should be very clear that there is no
    state line that will insulate illegal traffickers of cigarettes from our
    vigorous investigation and prosecution," Zebedee Graham, the Bureau of
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms special agent in charge, said in a statement.

    In 2008, the jury did not convict Djeredjian's wife, Carmen Badrian, or
    Roobik Ohaniansaki, whom authorities had tried to tie to the scheme. Both
    lived in Glendale at the time.

    John Torres, the special agent in charge of the Los Angeles Bureau of
    Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said the sentencing vindicated the
    inter-state and undercover investigation.

    "This sentencing clearly shows that trafficking in contraband tobacco
    products will not be tolerated," he said in an e-mail. "This is a great
    conclusion."

    George Holding, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina,
    said in a statement that the verdict upheld the federal government's role to
    ensure that people do not thwart state taxing authority.


    Copyright © 2010 - Glendale News Press
Working...
X