Chicopee man who evaded paying $100,000 in taxes gets jail term, probation
SPRINGFIELD — A Chicopee man pleaded guilty this week to tax evasion and filing false tax returns for a scheme related to the importation and sale of tobacco products.
Jaffar Syed, 52, will serve 18 months in the Hampden County House of Correction and then a three-year suspension on the tax evasion charge and a concurrent three years of probation on two false tax return charges, a statement from the Attorney General's Office said.
He entered the plea in Hampden Superior Court Tuesday.
The AG Office's indictment stemmed from an incident in April 2024 in which Syed purchased "bulk amounts of smokeless tobacco, smoking tobacco, and cigars from a wholesale distributor in Pennsylvania and then sold those products through his company, Shaws Whole Sale LLC," to retailers primarily in and around Hampden County, the statement said.
The Massachusetts State Police and state Department of Revenue Criminal Investigations Bureau conducted a joint investigation into Syed, which found that he filed two tax returns in 2018 that "falsely reported $0 tax liability," the statement said.
Between March 2018 and January 2019, the investigation said, Syed evaded paying more than $100,000 in taxes.
Syed is unable to travel without notice and permission of the probation department to visit Pakistan, the United Kingdom or Dubai, which is in the United Arab Emirates, according to a court order signed by Superior Court judge Jeremy C. Bucci.
Records also show Syed needs permission from probation to travel out of state for food.
The office's White Collar and Public Integrity Division investigates criminal misconduct against public agencies and that which has a "harmful effect on public confidence in our government and other trust institutions."
The Gaming Enforcement Division and Digital Evidence Lab prosecuted Syed after the investigation into him, the office said.
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