Rogers Man Sentenced in Contraband Cigarette Case

— A Rogers man was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for his role in trafficking contraband cigarettes.

James B. Trosper pleaded guilty in 2011 to three counts involving the scheme. Trosper was sentenced in federal court in Oxford, Miss.

Trosper also was ordered to pay $93,000 in restitution.

Trosper and others were charged defrauding Mississippi and New York as well as the United Sates of more than $1 million in taxes and fees on cigarettes, according to federal court documents. He owned Delta-Ozark Enterprises in Grove, Okla., with an office at his Rogers residence.

Between November 2006 and January 2009, 199 invoices showed 284,567 cartons of cigarettes were sold to Trosper for $2,139,536. Trosper admitted he didn’t report sales that resulted in an estimated $1,422,835 in taxes and fees being avoided, according to documents.

In a document addressed to the court, Trosper is described as 79 and in ill health. Trosper was described as a “middleman” putting together buyers and sellers. He made a commission on each sale, and made about a $5,751 net profit.

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