North Hollywood Tobacco Distributors Plead Guilty to $2.5 Million Tax Fraud

The two owners of Pay-Less Wholesale at 12001 Victory Blvd. in North Hollywood pleaded guilty Tuesday to defrauding California out of $2.5 million in state tobacco excise taxes, according to reports by the Associated Press and the Central Valley Business Times.

Adib Sirope, 59, and Rimoun Mansour, 51, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of mail fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento said.

Prosecutors said the two mailed tax returns that under-reported the amount of tobacco they sold to California's Board of Equalization, thus reducing their excise taxes, and are now facing up to 20 years in prison, according to the reports.