SWANSEA, Mass. (WPRI) — A Swansea man has pleaded guilty to tax evasion for illegally selling cigarettes in southeastern Massachusetts, according to Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn III.

Prosecutors said Linwood Cowen drove to Nashua, New Hampshire, on June 15, 2022, to buy cigarettes and bring them back into Massachusetts without paying the $3.51 excise tax per pack.

Cowen, 46, bought the cigarettes in bulk at a discounted price to then sell them at a lower cost, prosecutors said. A Mass. state trooper seized dozens of cartons from Cowen, who investigators determined was not a licensed cigarette wholesaler in the state.

Over a year and a half, the Department of Revenue reportedly lost about $78,000 in cigarette tax revenue.

Cowen pleaded guilty on Sept. 29 and received a

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