United States v. Michael E. Smith

KETHLEDGE, Circuit Judge.

*441 The defendants here took part in a decade-long scheme surreptitiously to sell tax-free cigarettes, thereby defrauding federal, state, and local governments of more than $ 45 million in tax revenue. The federal government eventually uncovered the scheme and charged them with 34 counts of various crimes, including conspiracy to commit mail or wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349 , conspiracy to launder money in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956 (h), and conspiracy against the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 . One of the defendants, John Maddux, pleaded…