A Hopkinton man faces serious allegations of tax evasion, accused of dodging a hefty sum in excise taxes owed to the Commonwealth. According to a joint announcement by Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Massachusetts Department of Revenue Commissioner Geoffery Snyder yesterday, 61-year-old Ashraf Youssef allegedly failed to pay over $467,000 between 2020 and 2022.

Allegedly being the keyword, Youssef, the owner of AAA Smoke & Vape Shop in Marlborough and similar establishments in Sudbury and Whitinsville, allegedly failed to remit excise taxes for purchases of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (vape) products from out-of-state distributors. On June 18, 2024, he stood before Clerk Magistrate Daniel Flaherty, who arraigned him on three counts of tax evasion, and he was released on personal recognizance. With a promise to return for his next court hearing on July 9, 2024, the cloud of accusation remains until his innocence or guilt is proven.

The tax evasion narrative builds from bank records, delivery documents, and invoices. The data suggest over the three-year period, Youssef paid no excise tax on the vape products that his smoke and vape shops acquired. "Based on information compiled from invoices, bank records and delivery records, Ashraf Youssef failed to pay $467,828 in electronic nicotine delivery systems excise taxes," according to the release from the Middlesex DA's office.

The levied excise taxes on goods such as vape products are mandated under General Laws Chapter 64C, section 7E. Offering a reminder of legal foundations, these charges are currently merely allegations, just like the presumption of innocence that shadows Youssef until judgement's light is cast—or isn't—upon him. Assistant District Attorney Whitney Williams will prosecute the case, culled from the collaborative investigation by the Middlesex DA’s Office and the Massachusetts Department of Revenue Criminal Investigations Bureau.