U.S. Department of JusticeU.S. Attorney’s Office Western District of Texas Johnny Sutton, U.S. Attorney; FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. Shana Jones, Special Assistant Daryl Fields, Public Information Officer (210) 384-7440 May 27, 2008FINAL 5 DEFENDANTS CONVICTED IN SCHEME TO SELL MILLIONS OF COUNTERFEIT SMUGGLED CIGARETTES United States Attorney Johnny Sutton announced that in San Antonio, the five remaining defendants each face up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty this afternoon to their roles in a large-scale counterfeit cigarette distribution operation based in San Antonio.
Appearing before United States District Judge Royal Furgeson, were Wael Wahid Jamal Abdelaziz (aka "Tony"); Ziad Mahmoud Alsalameh (aka "Zee" and "Ziad Mahmoud Al Batainch"); Haleem Hamoudeh Hamoudeh (aka "Mike"); Mohammad Diab Al-Rafati; and, Suleiman Bhojani all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess, receive, distribute and sell in excess of 60,000 cigarettes with counterfeit Texas tax stamps. (this is also big business in Tampa Fl, see laundering money from stolen and/or smuggled cigarettes and used cars sent to Iraq.).
To date, 20 defendants have been convicted in this case. Authorities are still searching for Aziz Abdallah Abdelaziz and Awni Mahmoud Derieh (aka "Asfar Munther").
In the scheme, the defendants, some of whom are convenience store owners, knowingly conspired to obtain stolen and/or smuggled cigarettes which contained counterfeit Texas tax stamps and profit by reselling them directly to the public. During this investigation, authorities seized over $800,000 cash generated as a result of this criminal enterprise.
This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the San Antonio Police Department.
ORIGINAL POST; 20 ARRESTED FOR SCHEMING TO SELL MILLIONS OF COUNTERFEIT CIGARETTES; United States Attorney Johnny Sutton, FBI Special Agent in Charge Ralph Diaz, ATF Special Agent in Charge Donnie Carter, ICE Special Agent in Charge Alonso Pena and San Antonio Police Chief Albert Ortiz announced federal charges filed against 20 individuals in connection with a large-scale counterfeit cigarette distribution operation in San Antonio.
Those arrested include:
WAEL WAHID JAMAL ABDELAZIZ aka "TONY",
KHAIR ABDALLAH MOHAMMAD ABDELAZIZ aka "KITTY",
SAYEL SHIHADEN ABDALLAH,
FAROUK IBRAHIM,
ABULABAN NABIL,
SALEH ABDELQUADER aka "NABIL QUADER",
MADHAT SF ORABI aka "DAVID",
ZIAD MAHMOUD ALSALAMEH aka "ZEE" aka "ZIAD MAHMOUD AL BATAINCH", HALEEM HAMOUDEH HAMOUDEH aka "MIKE" ISAM HMAIDAN aka "SAM" MOHAMMAD SULEMAN BHOJANI
Authorities are still searching for;
AZIZ ABDALLAH ABDELAZIZ,
AWNI MAHMOUD DERIEH, aka "ASFAR MUNTHER," and
JESSE DANIEL PETERSEN.
With the exception of MOHAMED AHMAD SALAMEH and SULEMAN BHOJANI, the defendants were charged in a 34-count sealed indictment returned yesterday by a federal grand jury in San Antonio. The indictment was unsealed this afternoon by United States Magistrate Judge John Primomo. Undercover federal agents, working with confidential informants, posed as black-market suppliers of the cigarettes. They also filled orders for Enfamil infant formula and EBT (food-stamp) cards that were used to buy merchandise that was resold at local convenience stores, according to court records.
The indictment alleges that since April 21, 2004, the defendants conspired together to ship, transport, receive, possess, sell and distribute approximately 9.6 million counterfeit cigarettes. The indictment specifically alleges 30 individual transactions involving the sale of counterfeit cigarettes–cigarettes whose packages contained falsely made, forged, altered or counterfeit Texas tax stamps. According to the indictment, each individual transaction involved at least 300 cartons of counterfeit cigarettes that the defendants would generally purchase for between $10 and $15 per carton.
In addition to the conspiracy charge, the indictment charges Sayel Shihaden Abdallah, Makram Sayel Hijaz and Maisar Hassa Abdalla with unauthorized use, acquisition or possession of food stamps. The indictment alleges that on March 17, 2005, Abdallah and Hijaz purchased $2,046 worth of food stamps for $1,000 cash; Abdalla, $505 in food stamps for $250 cash.
Finally, Isam Hmaidan is also charged with one count of dealing in counterfeit obligations. On September 14, 2005, Isam Hmaidan allegedly sold four counterfeit $100 bills to an undercover agent.
Federal authorities filed criminal complaints this morning against MOHAMED AHMAD SALAMEH and SULEMAN BHOJANI charging them with shipping, transporting, receiving, possessing, selling and distributing counterfeit cigarettes.
In addition to the arrests this morning, investigators executed several search warrants and seized approximately $500,000 in cash and numerous vehicles believed to be proceeds from the alleged criminal enterprise.
