Putnam County Store Owner Charged with Selling Contraband Cigarettes NYS Tax Dept. suspends store’s registration to sell tobacco products. Selig and Associates

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The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance suspended the registration required for a Putnam County gas station to sell tobacco products after agents with the department’s Criminal Investigations Division discovered 21 cartons of contraband cigarettes.

The illegal cigarettes, bearing two different counterfeit New York State tax stamps, were seized after a routine cigarette inspection at the Citgo Mart, Inc., 1481 Route 22, in Brewster.

The store’s owner, Mohamed Aljahim, 36, of 45 Decan Smith Hill Road, Patterson, was charged with one felony and one misdemeanor. The defendant is scheduled to appear in court later this month.

“The charges in this case serve as a reminder to all shop owners across the state that selling untaxed cigarettes, no matter how large or small the quantity, is a serious crime that won’t be tolerated,” said Acting Commissioner Nonie Manion. “We will continue to work with prosecutors and all levels of law enforcement as we pursue these cases.”

All cigarettes for retail sale in New York State must be purchased by a licensed distributor, and retail dealers must be in possession of purchase invoices showing that the taxes on the cigarettes have been paid. Those found in possession of untaxed cigarettes can face fines of up to $600 per carton as well as a prison sentence.

A criminal complaint is only an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The case will be prosecuted by the Putnam County District Attorney’s Office.

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Former IRS Special Agent Sentenced to Prison for Filing False Tax Returns, Theft of Government Money & Obstruction of Justice

A former Special Agent for the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation was sentenced to serve 51 months in prison for filing false tax returns, obstruction of justice, and stealing government money, announced Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Richard E. Zuckerman of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and U.S. Attorney Alex G. Tse. 

According to the evidence introduced at trial, Alena Aleykina, 45, who is also a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master’s degree in business administration, filed six false tax returns – three personal tax returns for years 2009, 2010, and 2011, and three in the names of trusts she created for years 2010 and 2011.  On her personal tax returns, Aleykina fraudulently claimed the head of household filing status, listed false dependents, and claimed deductions for education expenses to which she was not entitled.  Aleykina also obtained a fraudulent legal separation decree from the California Superior Court for Yolo County so that she and her husband could claim rental real estate loss deductions to which they were not entitled.  Further, on a trust tax return, she falsely claimed to be paying wages to her mother and her sister to care for her son and father.

Additionally, Aleykina stole government funds and obstructed justice during the investigation.  She stole from the IRS’s Tuition Assistance Program, a program created to allow IRS employees to take job-related classes from local colleges and educational institutions. Aleykina falsely claimed to be taking English classes from a trust registered to her sister. As a result of these fake classes, Aleykina recieved $4,000 in tuition reimbursement from the Tuition Assistance Program.  When criminal investigators approached Aleykina to retrieve her government laptop, Aleykina lied to the agents about the location of the laptop and deleted dozens of files from the computer after the agents left.  The total loss to the government from Aleykina’s conduct is more than $50,000.

Aleykina was previously convicted in June after a two-week federal jury trial in the Eastern District of California of filing false tax returns, destroying records in a federal investigation, and theft of government money.

In addition to the term of prison imposed, Aleykina was also ordered to serve one year of supervised release and to pay $4,000 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). 

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Zuckerman and U.S. Attorney Tse commended special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and IRS-Criminal Investigation, who conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney William Frentzen and Tax Division Trial Attorneys Arthur J. Ewenczyk and Charles O’Reilly, who prosecuted the case.

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