"A.T.F. Filled Secret Bank Account With Millions From Shadowy Cigarette Sales"

Working from an office suite behind a Burger King in southern Virginia, operatives used a web of shadowy cigarette sales to funnel tens of millions of dollars into a secret bank account. They weren’t known smugglers, but rather agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

The operation, not authorized under Justice Department rules, gave agents an off-the-books way to finance undercover investigations and pay informants without the usual cumbersome paperwork and close oversight, according to court records and people close to the operation.

The secret account is at the heart of a federal racketeering lawsuit brought by a collective of tobacco farmers who say they were swindled out of $24 million. A pair of A.T.F. informants received at least $1 million each from that sum, records show.

The scheme relied on phony shipments of snack food disguised as tobacco. The agents were experts: Their job was to catch cigarette smugglers, so they knew exactly how it was done.

Continue reading the main story

Government records and interviews with people involved reveal an operation that existed on a murky frontier — between investigating smuggling and being complicit in it. After The New York Times began asking about the operation last summer, the Justice Department disclosed it to the department’s inspector general’s office, which is investigating. The inspector general “expressed serious concerns,” court records show.

It is unclear how broadly the A.T.F. adopted this practice, at what level it was approved, and whether it continues. Nearly all references to the A.T.F. have been blacked out of public court records, and most documents are entirely sealed.

Jason Chaffetz on Twitter: "A.T.F. Filled Secret Bank Account With ...

Views: 185

Comment

You need to be a member of 12160 Social Network to add comments!

Join 12160 Social Network

"Destroying the New World Order"

TOP CONTENT THIS WEEK

THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE SITE!

mobile page

12160.info/m

12160 Administrators

 

Latest Activity

Doc Vega posted blog posts
21 hours ago
cheeki kea posted a blog post
yesterday
Less Prone favorited GeneralCarlosQ17's blog post Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for “large scale social deception”
yesterday
cheeki kea favorited GeneralCarlosQ17's blog post Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for “large scale social deception”
yesterday
tjdavis posted photos
yesterday
tjdavis posted a blog post
yesterday
GeneralCarlosQ17 posted a status
"#DOGE - A Lawyer's Perspective - Tom Renz’s Newsletter https://substack.com/home/post/p-156562663"
yesterday
GeneralCarlosQ17 posted a status
"**DOGE IS LIVE!! Work | DOGE: Department of Government Efficiency https://doge.gov/"
yesterday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

What Would Have Happened to the US Had Harris Been Elected?

Dodging a bullet! America avoided an extinction event that would have been just as bad as any…See More
yesterday
GeneralCarlosQ17 posted a blog post

Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for “large scale social deception”

Reuters was paid millions of dollars by the US government for “large scale social deception”. That…See More
Thursday
tjdavis posted a video

Sci-Fi Short Film “Slaughterbots” | DUST

In a dystopian world a new form of A.I. weaponry has been created. All these drone bots need is a profile: age, sex, fitness, uniform, and ethnicity. Nuclear...
Thursday
Doc Vega commented on Doc Vega's blog post Are We Really in a Simulation?
"Less Prone, thanks for your approval! "
Wednesday
Doc Vega posted a blog post

Breaking News: Democrat Run Child Trafficking Charity Front Busted!

 This is so hot off the press that even YouTube hasn’t had time to delay its presentation yet. The…See More
Wednesday
Burbia posted a blog post
Wednesday
Doc Vega commented on tjdavis's video
Thumbnail

Looker (1981) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

"Alert Finney did some cool movies back then another one was "Wolfen"! "
Tuesday
Doc Vega favorited tjdavis's video
Tuesday
Doc Vega favorited tjdavis's video
Tuesday
tjdavis posted videos
Tuesday
GeneralCarlosQ17 posted a status
"The Misappropriation of Funding is FRAUD pure and simple. https://generalcarlosq17.substack.com/p/the-misappropriation-of-funding-is"
Monday
Doc Vega posted blog posts
Monday

© 2025   Created by truth.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service

content and site copyright 12160.info 2007-2019 - all rights reserved. unless otherwise noted