Two Charged in Connection with Failing to Pay Over $750,000 in Excise Tax
WOBURN – Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Massachusetts Department of Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey E. Snyder have announced that Javed Iqbal Shaikh, 45 of Waltham and Sahid A. Tai, 50 of Billerica have been charged in connection with allegedly failing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in smokeless tobacco excise tax over three years.
Mr. Shaikh was arraigned yesterday in Middlesex Superior Court on six counts of attempting to evade the smokeless tobacco excise tax. Special Assistant Clerk Magistrate Dan Flaherty released the defendant on personal recognizance. The next date in this case is April 26, 2022.
A default warrant has been issued for Mr. Tai who has been indicted on six counts of attempting to evade the smokeless tobacco excise tax.
In the years 2018, 2019, and 2020, Javed Iqbal Shaikh was the owner of Cronin’s Market, located in Waltham and Sahid A. Tai was the owner of A & R Market, located in Belmont. During those years, both defendants routinely purchased untaxed products classified as “other tobacco products,” including items like smoking tobacco and cigars, from a company located outside of Massachusetts. As part of those purchases the invoices clearly stated that the defendants were responsible for paying excise taxes on these purchases.
Over the three years that these purchases were made, neither defendant paid any excise tax on the products. Based on information compiled from invoices, bank records, and delivery records, Javed Iqbal Shaikh failed to pay $579,699.60 in smokeless tobacco and cigar and smoking tobacco excise tax; Sahid A. Tai failed to pay $250,266.58 in smokeless tobacco excise tax and cigar and smoking tobacco excise tax .
“The Department of Revenue remains committed to the ongoing efforts to stop the flow of illegal tobacco products and prevent loss of legitimate state revenue,” said Massachusetts Department of Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey E. Snyder. “Our Criminal Investigation Bureau’s collaborative partnership with the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office makes it clear that we are serious in pursuing those in willful violation of Massachusetts tax laws.”
“Today’s arraignment is the result of a lengthy collaborative investigation that required the analysis of years of financial records,” said District Attorney Ryan. “As a result of the investigation conducted with the Department of Revenue we were able to uncover a tax evasion scheme that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue for the Commonwealth.”
The excise tax for cigar and smoking tobacco is imposed by General Laws Chapter 64C, section 7B, and the excise tax for smokeless tobacco imposed by General Laws 64C, sections 6, 7A, and 7C.
These charges are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The prosecutor assigned to this case is Assistant District Attorney Whitney Williams. This case was investigated by the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Criminal Investigations Bureau.