Puyallup Tribal smoke shops' owner sentenced for fraud scheme to avoid millions in taxes
Dec. 14—A man who owns three Puyallup Tribal smoke shops was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Seattle for a money-laundering scheme designed to evade millions of dollars in state taxes, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced.
Anthony Edwin Paul, 43, was sentenced to 14 months in prison. He also was ordered to pay $1,764,818 in restitution to the Washington State Department of Revenue and a $5,000 fine. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering in June.
Paul conducted the scheme with TK Mac, a non-tribal tobacco distributor, according to a news release. The owners of TK Mac, Hyung Il Kwon and Tae Young Kim have pleaded guilty to their roles in the crime. An employee at one of Paul's smoke shops, Theodore Kai Silva, also pleaded guilty.
U.S. District Judge James Robart will sentence Kwon, Kim and Silva in January.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/puyallup-tribal-smoke-shops-owner-sentenced-for-fraud-scheme-to-avoid-millions-in-taxes/ar-AAROLHQ