COMPLAINT - Case No. 25-cv-1445 - United States District Court, Southern District of New York

Oct 13, 2026

Complaint filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, captioned The People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General of the State of New York, against multiple corporate and individual defendants connected to Puff Bar and related brands and distributors. The pleading sets out jurisdiction and venue, identifies the parties, and alleges factual violations involving illegal flavored disposable vapor products. It asserts defendants have marketed and sold dangerous products to youth while disregarding safeguards under federal and New York public health and FDA-related laws, including marketing, shipping, ingredient disclosures, and the PACT Act and FD&C Act.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatPDF

Pages197

Reading Time1 h 9 min

AccessFree to download

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

PARTIES

I. Corporate Defendants

II. Individual Defendants

FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS

I. Old Tactics, New Products, Same Problems: Defendants Have Openly Marketed and Sold Illegal and Dangerous Flavored Vapor Products

II. Ignoring the Safeguards: With Nearly Every Sale of Flavored E-Cigarettes, Defendants Have Violated the Law and Created, Maintained, or Contributed to an Avoidable Crisis That New York Now Struggles to Contain

III. Each Defendant Has Persistently and Illegally Marketed, Sold, and Shipped Flavored Vapor Products into New York

IV. The Price Paid by the State: Defendants’ Flavored Vapor Products Have Harmed New York and Will Continue To Do So If Unabated

Case 1:25-cv-01445-MMG Document 1 Filed 02/20/25 Page 1 of 197 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK-------------------------------------------------------------------X THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, by LETITIA JAMES, Attorney General of the State of New York, Plaintiff, -against- Case No. 25-cv-1445 PUFF BAR, EVO BRANDS, LLC, PVG2, LLC D/B/A PUFF BAR, ECTO WORLD LLC D/B/A DEMAND VAPE, MAGELLAN TECHNOLOGY INC., YLSN DISTRIBUTION INC. D/B/A HAPPY DISTRO, MIDWEST GOODS INC. D/B/A MIDWEST DISTRIBUTION ILLINOIS, 10 DAYS, INC. D/B/A POD JUICE, SAFA GOODS LLC, SV3, LLC D/B/A MI-ONE BRANDS, MYLÉ VAPE INC., MVH I, INC., PRICE POINT DISTRIBUTORS INC. D/B/A PRICE POINT NY D/B/A PRICEPOINTNY.COM, WEIS KHWAJA, HAMZA JALILI, and MOHAMMAD JALILI, Defendants. -------------------------------------------------------------------X COMPLAINT Case 1:25-cv-01445-MMG Document 1 Filed 02/20/25 Page 2 of 197 PRELIMINARY STATEMENT .................................................................................................... 1 JURISDICTION AND VENUE ..................................................................................................... 6 PARTIES ........................................................................................................................................ 6 I. Corporate Defendants ......................................................................................................... 7 II. Individual Defendants ......................................................................................................... 8 FACTUAL ALLEGATIONS ......................................................................................................... 9 I. Old Tactics, New Products, Same Problems: Defendants Have Openly Marketed and Sold Illegal and Dangerous Flavored Vapor Products.................................................................................................................... 9 A. Defendants Make the Tobacco Industry’s Strategies Their Own............................... 11 1. E-Cigarettes Rise After the Tobacco Industry’s Heyday.......................................15 2. Puff Bar Emerges After JUUL’s Heyday and Creates the Market for Disposable Vapes.................................................................................19 B. Today’s Disposable Vapes, which Defendants Control in New York, are Dangerous and Designed to Be Irresistible to Youth.................................................................... 22 II. Ignoring the Safeguards: With Nearly Every Sale of Flavored E-Cigarettes, Defendants Have Violated the Law and Created, Maintained, or Contributed to an Avoidable Crisis That New York Now Struggles to Contain.................................. 32 A. Defendants Actively Subvert Evidence-Based Federal, State, and Local Laws......... 33 1. Defendants Violate the Federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (“PACT”) Act.....................................................................................34 2. Defendants Violate Multiple Provisions of New York’s Public Health Law Regarding the Marketing and Sale of E-Cigarettes...............................................39 a. Each Defendant Has Violated New York’s Flavor Ban (N.Y. Pub. Health L. § 1399-mm-1) ......................................................... 42 b. Each Defendant Has Violated New York’s Ban on Shipping (N.Y. Pub. Health L. § 1399-ll) ................................................................ 43 Case 1:25-cv-01445-MMG Document 1 Filed 02/20/25 Page 3 of 197 c. Certain Defendants Have Violated New York’s Required Ingredient Disclosures (N.Y. Pub. Health L. § 1701) .................................................................... 45 d. Each Defendant Has Violated Pertinent Local Laws................................ 49 3. Each Defendant Has Violated the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (“FD&C Act”) and FDA Regulat

FAQs

Who are the parties to the complaint and what court is involved?

The plaintiff is The People of the State of New York, by Letitia James, Attorney General. The case is filed in the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, against listed corporate and individual defendants.

What do the factual allegations primarily claim?

The complaint alleges defendants marketed, sold, and shipped flavored disposable vapor products that are illegal and dangerous, including targeting youth and violating federal and state/public health safeguards.

Which areas of law does the complaint reference as being violated?

The complaint cites alleged violations including the Federal Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, New York public health law provisions regarding flavor bans, shipping bans, required ingredient disclosures, and the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) and FDA regulations.

Oct 13, 2026

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