NEW DELHI: An Indian national has pleaded guilty to his role in a racket that involved smuggling and selling counterfeit cigarettes in the United States.
Gaurav Joseph Jayaseelan, 25, was arrested Aug. 28 after the trail from a shipping container with 53,740 cartons of knockoff cigarettes arrived at the Broward County port in Florida last year.
Authorities said he and his father operated the Indian tobacco plant and supplying business that manufactured the cigarettes and illegally copied the Newport brand’s packaging and trademarks.
Jayaseelan, his father Joseph Rayappan Jayaseelan, and a third man, Pedro Ivan Flores, were indicted in September 2014 on conspiracy, counterfeit trafficking and false labeling charges. Jayaseelan is the only one of the three who has been arrested so far, according to court records.
He now faces a maximum possible punishment of 13 years in federal prison and potential fines of $2.25 million when sentenced in January, according to The Sun Sentinel. The prosecution and defense said he played a relatively minor role and will likely receive a sentence of two to 2.5 years in prison.
“A key part of FDA’s mission is to protect consumers from counterfeit products — including cigarettes — that the agency regulates,” said Robert J West, Acting Special Agent in Charge, of the FDA Office of Criminal Investigations’ Miami Field Office. “We will continue to focus our efforts and resources on removing harmful counterfeit products from the U.S. marketplace,” he continued.
