Ghost Medical Dispensary Owners How Oklahoma Lawyers Get Caught Trying to Outsmart Marijuana Industry Rules

From January to date, three Oklahoma attorneys have been arrested and face charges for alleged involvement in illegal cannabis licensing programs. The scheme, commonly referred to as ghost working, involves companies registering to obtain licenses.

The most recent attorney arrested, Mathew Stacy, is accused of registering about 300 limited liability companies to more easily obtain medical cannabis and manufacturing licenses. He allegedly created many of these illegal operations as part of Oklahoma’s medical cannabis program.

In early June, Logan Jones and Eric Brown were similarly charged with falsifying business records, growing illegal substances and various conspiracies. Investigators from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics (OBN) revealed that they interviewed four other attorneys who worked at the James-Brown law firm, and all four confessed that their names had been used to sign up for the licenses to manufacture Register medical cannabis in Oklahoma.

Mathew Stacy’s case

Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics Public Information Officer Woodward issued a statement hours after the multi-grand jury indicted Stacy. He revealed that in addition to being named to Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt’s COVID-19 response team, Stacy is a lieutenant colonel in the Oklahoma National Guard. Stacy also donated approximately $3,000 to Gov. Stitt’s re-election campaign.

According to Woodward, the OBM hasn’t gotten very far with the ongoing investigation and the rampant registration of countless medical cannabis licensing companies. “The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority reports that there are 7,400 licensed growers in the state, but marijuana producers who may have received permits despite the state’s owner having no actual interest in the business number well over 1,000 if not nearly 2,000.

Almost 25% of Oklahoma farms could be involved in the same fraudulent deals,” Woodward said.

In an interview with KOCO, a respected Oklahoma news agency, Woodward revealed on behalf of the agency that most of the attorneys and consultants involved in these ghost labor fees often recruit non-residents to apply for these licenses — and give them a 75% interest promise. In comparison, the illegal companies come with their 25 percent work force. These criminals produce the crops, take them to the point of sale and also move the money. Woodward added that 75% of owners have no idea what’s going on on their farms.

According to OBN, Oklahomans were recruited to take on the role of “ghost owners” of the companies, signing ownership documents but not being involved in day-to-day operations. The farms are often run by people outside of the state. Investigators discovered “Thousands of marijuana plants actively growing with tens to hundreds of pounds of fully processed and packaged marijuana present on the searched property.”

The agency revealed that Stacy is yet to admit his mistakes; Instead, he has claimed on various occasions that the companies he wanted to register had not yet started operating. Woodward claimed that the illegal companies could not have obtained a license unless a legal team came forward and offered forged documents. According to Woodward, the token holders could potentially face felony charges because of their role in the program.

The James Brown case

Both lawyers reportedly used the names of their assistants to apply for a license to manufacture medicinal cannabis. This name served as a cover for their non-resident customers to access the state cannabis program. According to cannabis regulations, only those residing within the state have access to the state’s cannabis program.

Attorney for the case, John O’Connor, revealed in June that the state was focused on eliminating illegal operations hiding under the guise of authorized permits. He revealed that in a few months the state would be rid of anyone abusing its legal medicinal cannabis system.

In his defense, Brown’s attorney claimed the two were no longer partners while he denied any wrongdoing. According to Ken Adair, Brown’s attorney, his actions and knowledge of what happened in no way resemble the state of mind or criminal intent required to break the law. Meanwhile, a request asking Jones for comment received no response.

The agency revealed that at least 400 Oklahoma cannabis farms are listed as owned by several James-Brown employees, while the actual owners are people from out of state. Four associates of the Jones-Brown law firm reportedly revealed during interviews with investigators from the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics that they had been used to file applications for state-issued medical marijuana manufacturing licenses.

According to affidavits filed in the Garvin County court, a paralegal told investigators that she was paid $3,000 for each license she signed, with at least $1,000 going back to the law firm, and it was because they “changed so regularly.” met with clients.

Further investigations to track down illegal cannabis deals

The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics is currently investigating other “ghost-owning” activities that may exist. Bureau Director Anderson also pointed out that this one case took them 14 months and explained that there are some they’ve worked on for much longer.

A nationwide raid this year that resulted in many arrests, the seizure of 100,000 plants and 2,000 pounds of processed marijuana, among other charges, was made possible by OBN’s ability to assign more investigators to illegal marijuana operations in recent years, according to the bureau . The Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA), the state agency responsible for licensing, is often unable to detect a fake license application, Anderson said. As such, the work of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics in detecting nonresident owners is critical.

It is worth noting that OMMA will be an agency in its own right by next month. This move was completed by state legislatures. Regarding licenses incorrectly using an Oklahoma’s name, Anderson noted that while OMMA has drawn some criticism for doing so, it’s not OMMA’s fault because everything (appears) fine when inspected.

last words

The government’s decision to make OMMA independent will help reduce regulatory and compliance complexity. In this way, the agency, working with the Board of Safety and OBN, will be able to effectively regulate the deals that voters have approved as legitimate while minimizing the risks that the black market poses to the well-being of Oklahomans.

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