RICHMOND, VA - Philip Morris USA and its parent company Altria Group Inc. last week filed suit in U.S. District Court against Mastic, New York-based T Talks Smoke Shop for selling counterfeit Marlboro brand cigarettes, DailyMarkets.com reports.

The suit is based on purchases of 30 packs of counterfeit cigarettes by investigators at G Talks Smoke Shop last week, followed by a seizure by Suffolk County Police of an additional 30 packs bearing the Marlboro trademark at the same retail location.

The seizures are in addition to nearly 5,000 packs of counterfeit Philip Morris USA cigarettes seized on the Poospatuck reservation in 2009 to 2010.

Including this new lawsuit, PM currently has 16 counterfeit retailer lawsuits pending in the New York area against 39 defendants.

Philip Morris attributed rising counterfeit sales in New York to the state's excise tax, which is the highest in the United States, as well as the lack of collection of excise taxes on cigarettes sold on Native American reservations.

As of July 1, New York's cigarette tax was raised 60 percent to $4.35 per pack. New York City assesses a separate $1.50 per pack tax.