Woman Pleads Guilty To Distributing Contraband Cigarettes

Posted 02/04/2020

On Wednesday, January 29, 2020, Crystal King, 32, of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Reservation, pleaded guilty to distribution of contraband cigarettes. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, under the direction of Jonathan D. Larsen, Special Agent-in-Charge; Homeland Security Investigations - Border Enforcement Security Team, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Kevin Kelly; Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Unit, under the direction of Director Brian Manaher; the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau – Office of Field Operations, under the direction of Assistant Administrator Nicholas Colucci; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge John B. Devito, New York Field Division.

King is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa on April 30, 2020.

A copy of the press release may be found on the website for the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.