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Attorney general sues over ‘illegal liquor shipments’
Tennessee attorney general Jonathan Skrmetti is suing six online companies for allegedly selling spirits illegally.
The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville.
It claims the defendants illegally shipped distilled spirits without a state licence, violating the law under the Twenty-First Amendment Enforcement Act. This is the first time an attorney general has prosecuted a violation of law under this Act.
Russell Thomas, executive director of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), said: “I am very happy that general Skrmetti decided to prosecute this case.
“Our agents and staff worked hard to collect the evidence against these bad actors. Too often we find websites operated by unscrupulous individuals willing to deceive consumers.”
The allegations follow six separate investigations, during which undercover agents from the TABC bought and received unauthenticated and untaxed spirits from each defendant.
The shipments went around the state’s three-tier alcohol licensing system, designed to ‘protect’ consumers in Tennessee by monitoring the production, distribution and retail sales of alcohol.
After each investigation, cease-and-desist letters were sent to each defendant, but allegedly, the offenders continued to ship spirits unlawfully.
A recent report from the Fraud Advisory Panel revealed fake wine, beer and spirits cost the European Union (EU) €3bn (US$3.2bn) in lost sales annually.
Earlier this year, The Spirits Business explored how the global spirits industry is tackling the production of illegal alcohol.