The U.S. Attorney’s Office has turned over more than a million dollars in seized assets to the municipality of Anchorage tied to a 2015 court ruling.
At a Thursday press conference, officials announced that the one point one million dollar check [$1,110,559] is connected to an investigation into six individuals participating in a scheme to defraud the municipality over cigarette taxes.
According to a release, between 2009 and 2012 the convicted retailers purchased whole-sale cigarettes, then knowingly violated rules over their re-sale at locations across town, bringing in a higher profit by avoiding municipal excise taxes.
The sentences handed down include mail fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and range from three years imprisonment to probation.
Attorneys say the payment amounts to restitution for the municipality.
Zachariah Hughes reports on city & state politics, arts & culture, drugs, and military affairs in Anchorage and South Central Alaska.
@ZachHughesAK About Zachariah
