Renegade Tobacco owner may serve up to 43 years in prison

Calvin Phelps’ cigarette export scheme to avoid tobacco settlement payments of about $4.98 million could cost the Mocksville businessman up to 43 years in prison. Phelps, owner of four bankrupt tobacco companies, pleaded guilty Thursday to federal charges of committing fraud, making false statements and unlawful financial transactions.

According to his plea agreement, Phelps also faces a requirement to forfeit up to $2 million of his money. The plea was made in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi, where Phelps has been the subject of a criminal investigation for nearly four years. Christie Moore, Phelps’ attorney, said Friday that a sentencing hearing has not been set.

According to officials with the Mississippi court, it could take four to six months for Phelps to be sentenced. Phelps was released on an undisclosed bond. Moore said Phelps deferred all comment to the legal filings. In May 2010, U.S. Attorney William Martin said Phelps and the companies were being investigated “for unlawful trafficking in cigarettes and other related crimes.”