Eden Prairie Man Charged With 2 Tobacco Tax-Related Felonies
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – An Eden Prairie business owner has been charged with two tax-related felonies after officials recovered untaxed tobacco products in his business.
Hani Hassan Kotifani, of Eden Prairie, has been charged with one count of possession of untaxed tobacco products and one count of purchasing tobacco from unlicensed sellers.
According to the criminal complaint, revenue officials were conducting a retail inspection of Kotifani's business, Anderson Oil Marketing Inc. During the inspection, officials found several tobacco products lacking Minnesota tobacco tax stamps.
The complaint states the investigators also found the invoices for the tobacco products indicated that Kotifani purchased them from vendors who were not licensed distributors in Minnesota.
The inspection found Kotifani and his company had 6,850 unstamped cigarettes, over $1,900 worth of untaxed tobacco products and had purchased more than $7,100 worth of tobacco from unlicensed vendors.
The investigation was conducted by the Minnesota Department of Revenue and the Eden Prairie Police Department.
If found guilty, Kotifani could face up to five years in prison, a $10,000 or both for each count.
