MONEY LAUNDERING CHARGES FILED AGAINST JORDANIAN NATIONALS WHO ALLEGEDLY SOLD UNTAXED CIGARETTES ON THE BLACK MARKET AND FUNNELED THE PROFITS TO THE MIDDLE EAST

Bronx District Attorney Robert T. Johnson and Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly announced today that 28 people have been indicted by a grand jury on charges of money laundering and other offenses stemming from the trafficking and sale of untaxed cigarettes obtained from Native American reservations on Long Island.

It is alleged that an estimated half million dollars in profits from the illegal scheme were sent to Amman, Jordan by way of crew members for Royal Jordanian Airlines. Individuals believed to be Jordanian Air Marshals are also suspected of acting as couriers in the money laundering operation.

Mr. Johnson said the indictments were the result of a year and a half long joint investigation conducted jointly with the NYPD Citywide Vice Enforcement Division, the New York State Division of Taxation and Finance, and the New York State Police.

The defendants, primarily Jordanian Nationals, are charged in three separate indictments containing 1,237 counts against members of three distinct networks that supplied untaxed cigarettes to commercial establishments and independent distributors in and around Bronx County. The three groups, according to investigators, sold a combined total of nearly 25,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes a week. Annually, that would amount to a loss of more than $38,000,000 in tax revenue to the State and City.

Mr. Johnson said: “A major concern is to determine for what purpose this money was being shipped out of the country. That will be one priority in this continuing investigation. There is also the impact of the loss of millions of dollars in tax revenues. At a time when government funds are being appropriately diverted to assist victims in the Gulf Coast and when the City’s children are in need of more equitable funding for their schools, the impact of these uncollected cigaret taxes cannot be minimized.”

Commissioner Kelly said: “This ring engaged in the wholesale diversion of millions of dollars worth of cigarettes from Indian reservations to undermine legitimate commerce through tax avoidance, money laundering, and the sale of both counterfeit cigarettes and counterfeit tax stamps. Detectives and prosecutors are to be commended for their tenacity in identifying the suspects and bringing them to justice”.

New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Andrew S. Eristoff said: “The Tax Department and its enforcement agents vigorously pursue those who traffic in the illegal cigarette trade. Working with other law enforcement agencies and district attorneys, we’re sending a clear message that those who engage in this activity will be apprehended, prosecuted and pay a high price for their actions.”

Mr. Johnson said the investigation involved the extensive use of court ordered wiretaps, physical surveillance, and the use of Global Positioning Systems on the vehicles belonging to the targets of the probe. The defendants were taken into custody during the execution of thirty search and arrest warrants at their homes as well as several commercial establishments in the Bronx. In addition to those individuals already charged by the grand jury, investigators also arrested seven other people, and seized 6,500 cartons of cigarettes and $584,147 in cash. On prior occasions during the undercover operation, investigators recovered an additional 8700 cartons of untaxed cigarettes, $155,000 in cash and two 9 MM guns. Two defendants, said to be principals in the black market sale of cigarettes, were observed on five occasions this year ( March 4, April 5, May 3, July 27, and August 3) delivering money to individuals known to be crew members for Royal Jordanian Airlines who were staying at hotels in Manhattan and Queens prior to their flights back to Amman.

It is alleged that the cigarettes were purchased on Long Island in Suffolk County at the Shinnecock Reservation in Southampton and the Poospatuck Reservation in Mastic. The untaxed cigarettes were then delivered to bodegas, delis and a number of independent distributors. While most of the untaxed cigarettes were purchased at the reservations, evidence uncovered during the investigation revealed that a small percentage of the “smokes” were counterfeit tobacco products were manufactured abroad and sold locally as American brand cigarettes.

Charges in the indictments are as follows:

Money Laundering in the 2nd degree, Class C felony, 4 counts

Money Laundering in the 3rd degree, Class D felony, 1 count

Criminal Poss. of a forged instrument in the 1st degree, Class C felony, 14 counts

Trademark Counterfeiting in the 2nd degree, Class E felony, 16 counts

Violation of NYS Tax Law, Class D or E felonies depending on the dollar amount, 601 counts

Violation of New York City Administrative Code, Class D or E felonies depending on the dollar amount, 601 counts.

A Class C felony offense is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 15 years imprisonment: A Class D felony offense is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 7 years imprisonment; A Class E felony offense is punishable by a maximum sentence of up to 4 years imprisonment.

Several of the key defendants named in the indictments, unsealed this afternoon in State Supreme Court, include the following: Faiz Haddad, of 270 Longstreet Avenue, Bronx; Emad Al-Naimat, of 2936 Hone Avenue, Bronx; Ahmad Alnuaimat, of 1816 Delancey Place, Bronx; Abdelmajid Lababneth, of 267 E. 202nd Street, Bronx; Brian Bess, of 12 Old Soldiers Road, Shinnecock Indian Reservation, Southampton, New York; Saed Alnuaimat, of 1669 Holland Avenue, Bronx; Salem Alnaemat, of 1669 Holland Avenue, Bronx; Adel Alnashash, of 2436 Buck Street; Ibrahim Alateesh, of 1958 Mulliner Avenue, Bronx; Abdo Saidi, of 43-23 Colden Avenue, Flushing, New York; Mustafa Mohsin, of 1619 Hone Avenue, Bronx; and Chen Xin Zeng, of 84-25 Elmhurst Avenue, Elmhurst, New York.

District Attorney Robert T. Johnson and Police Commissioner Kelly thanked members of the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Police Department, New York State Police, and Department of Taxation and Finance, for their hard work on the investigation, including: Inspector James O’Neil, CO, NYPD Vice Enforcement Division, Captain Pasquale Morena, Citywide Vice Enforcement Division; Lieutenant George Nohey and Senior Investigator Leslie Millington of New York State Police, Thomas Stanton, Director, and Paul Rossi, Deputy Director of the Enforcement Division, the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance, and Assistant District Attorney Stephen Bookin, Chief, Investigations Division, and Assistant District Attorney Thomas Leahy, Chief, Rackets Bureau.

Special appreciation to: Sgt. Carlos Marroquin, Det. Gerard McMahon, Det. Louis Belovin, and interpreters Daniel Mufaddi, Jamiel Altaheri, and Bobby Hadid of the NYPD; Investigators Eric McCartney and Frank Vitko of the NY State Police; Suffolk County Police Department; Investigators Thomas Fedele and Jose Silverio of NY State Dept. of Taxation and Finance, Detective Investigator Ahmed Hosin, Assistant District Attorney Kristen Bowes, Assistant District Attorney David Kirschner.