Date: June 24, 2020 Contact: newsroom@ci.irs.gov SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Jamal Hassan of Liverpool, New York, and Saddam Hassan of East Syracuse, New York, pled guilty yesterday to conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes. Jamal Hassan also pled guilty to one count of a money laundering conspiracy. As part of their guilty pleas, the Hassan brothers admitted that they conspired to possess, sell, distribute, and purchase contraband cigarettes. During searches at their residence and at a storage facility rented by Jamal Hassan and used by Saddam Hassan, law enforcement officers seized over 250,000 contraband cigarettes and over 760 counterfeit New York State tax stamps. The Hassan brothers admitted that they sold the contraband cigarettes to markets and delis in the Syracuse area. Jamal Hassan faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000, and a term of 3 years of supervised release for his plea to conspiracy to commit money laundering. Jamal Hassan and Saddam Hassan face a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release for their plea to conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes. A defendant's sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; Homeland Security Investigation Buffalo Field Office; New York Police Department Intelligence Bureau-Strategic Intelligence Unit; New York State Department of Taxation and Finance; Oswego County Drug Task Force; and the Syracuse Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tamara B. Thomson.
