Bristol County District Attorney announces conviction concerning illegal sale of cigarettes

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn, III has announced that a 46-year-old man pled guilty in the Fall River District Court to charges of Tax Evasion and Selling Unstamped Cigarettes.

Linwood Cowen of Swansea was sentenced by the Court to one year to the House of Corrections suspended for one year. 

This case reflects a joint investigation by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Criminal Investigations Bureau and the Massachusetts State Police Illegal Tobacco Task Force. 

On June 15, 2022, Massachusetts State Trooper Daniel Nunes surveilled Cowen who drove from Taunton to Nashua, NH.  Once in New Hampshire, Trooper Nunes observed the defendant purchase several cartons of cigarettes.  Cowen then transported those cigarettes back into Massachusetts without paying the excise tax.  Trooper Nunes seized dozens of cartons of cigarettes from the defendant.  Through the joint investigation, it was determined that Cowen was not a licensed cigarette wholesaler or retailer of cigarettes in Massachusetts.  The defendant was found to purchase bulk quantities of cigarettes in New Hampshire at a discounted price, return those cigarettes to southeastern Massachusetts/Bristol County and sell them at a discounted price, thereby avoiding the excise tax of $3.51 per pack.  The Department of Revenue calculated lost cigarette tax revenue of roughly $78,000 over an eighteen-month period.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Michael Scott.

“I am pleased this joint investigation resulted in the defendant being charged with tax evasion.  Crimes like this impact legitimate business owners who pay their taxes,” District Attorney Tom Quinn said.