Attorney General Sues Greek Cigarette Firm

Source from:  wvgazette.com June 17, 2008 06/18/2008

Just as it did last year, the state Attorney General's Office has sued a Greek company for improperly selling cigarettes in West Virginia. In a lawsuit filed last week in Kanawha Circuit Court, the state alleges that SeKap S.A., a cigarette company based in Piraeus, Greece, failed to put money into an escrow account as required of "tobacco product manufacturers" by state law. The suit alleges that SeKap sold 1,040,400 units of Marathon brand cigarettes and 367,600 units of GR brand cigarettes in 2007. As a cigarette maker that has not registered with the state, those sales would require the firm to put $35,348.97 into an escrow account. The Attorney General's Office filed an almost identical suit last year seeking $20,943.50 to be placed into an escrow account, plus civil penalties. On March 31, Judge Charles King ruled in favor of the state, ordering the Greek firm to place that amount into escrow. In addition, he also awarded the state $62,830.50 (or 300 percent of the original amount) in penalties, the maximum amount allowed by law, because SeKap knowingly withheld the money. The new suit seeks $106,046.91 in civil penalties. "A part of the Legislature's purpose in enacting [tobacco laws] was to guarantee for the State a source of compensation and to prevent tobacco product manufacturers from deriving large, short-term profits and then becoming judgment-proof before the liability may arise," the new suit reads, echoing its earlier counterpart. Enditem