According to the Hopkinton Independent, on June 27th, the Middlesex County District Attorney's Office announced that a man from Hopkinton will appear in court on July 9th to respond to charges of allegedly failing to pay over $467,000 in sales taxes from 2020 to 2022.
The 61-year-old man Ashraf Youssef was the owner of the AAA Smoke & Vape Shop in Marlborough from 2020 to 2022, and also operated similar stores in Sudbury and Whitinsville.
During this period, the defendant is alleged to have purchased e-cigarette products from suppliers outside of four different states. He is responsible for paying the consumer tax on these products.
The invoice indicates that he is responsible for paying the consumption tax for these products, but in the past three years, it appears that he has not paid any consumption tax.
This case is being investigated by a collaboration between the Prosecutor's Office and the Criminal Investigation Bureau of the Massachusetts Department of Revenue. Based on information collected from invoices, bank records, and delivery records, the man is accused of failing to pay $467,828 in e-cigarette excise taxes.
The man was arraigned at Middlesex Superior Court on June 18, facing three charges of tax evasion. According to a joint statement from Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Massachusetts Department of Revenue Commissioner Geoffery Snyder, the defendant, clerk Daniel Flaherty, was released on personal recognizance at that time.
The e-cigarette consumption tax is regulated by Section 7E of Chapter 64C of the General Laws. Assistant District Attorney Whitney Williams will serve as the prosecutor for the case on July 9th.
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