Feds successful in taking Cornville home investigated for illegal marijuana grow

A home in Cornville that authorities believe housed an illegal marijuana growing operation now belongs to the federal government, at least temporarily.

On Oct. 8, U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. ordered the property at 368 West Ridge Road in Cornville to be forfeited to the United States government and disposed of according to law, according to court records. The judge also ordered a property at 9 St. Albans Road in Corinna, also a suspected illegal grow, to be forfeited on the same day.

The properties were among a handful of suspected illegal marijuana growing operations in Maine that federal prosecutors filed to take via civil forfeiture in May.

Woodcock ordered the forfeitures of the two properties by default, since the properties’ owners did not respond to the complaints, court records show. They were served and notified appropriately, according to the decree of forfeiture. The Bangor Daily News reported the ordered forfeitures earlier this month.

The move to seize the properties via forfeiture came as federal, state, county and local law enforcement investigated dozens of such operations, believed to be tied to Chinese organized crime, across the state.

As of Friday, authorities in Maine have executed search warrants at about 50 suspected illegal grows, about 100 of which are believed to exist in the state, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lizotte said in an email. At least 20 busts have been reported in Somerset County.

Along with the Cornville and Corinna properties, the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Maine filed similar complaints in May seeking forfeiture of two other homes, in China and Machias, with suspected marijuana growing operations. Two more similar complaints for properties in Norridgewock and Sangerville were filed in August.

Lizotte confirmed in an email that the U.S. Attorney’s office has filed for forfeiture of only those six properties as of Friday. The office is expecting to pursue more forfeiture cases in the future.

Under federal law, no criminal conviction is required for the government to file for forfeiture of properties “derived from or used to commit an offense,” according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Instead, the government is required to prove in court by a preponderance of evidence that the property was linked to criminal activity. The complaints are filed against the property itself, not its owner.

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office, along with multiple other law enforcement agencies, executed a search warrant Jan. 17 at the Cornville property, according to federal court records and information released previously by Sheriff Dale Lancaster.

“Nearly the entire house had been transformed into an illegal marijuana growing facility,” the complaint for forfeiture filed in May states. The operation had not been licensed to grow marijuana by the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy.

Prior to the search, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration obtained evidence of large power consumption from Central Maine Power Co., “consistent with large-scale illegal marijuana cultivation,” the complaint says.

Three people, including the owner, Yuling Mei, were arrested, and the search turned up more than 90 pounds of processed marijuana and 700 marijuana plants, court filings state. Mei, 63, whose address is listed as the Cornville home, and the other two people were indicted on state felony-level drug trafficking and marijuana cultivation charges in April, and those cases remained pending as of Thursday, court records in Skowhegan show.

Similar evidence alleging an illegal marijuana growing operation was presented in the complaint filed in the Corinna case, as well as the other four.

The other similar cases were still pending as of Friday, records show. Defendants in the forfeitures of the China and Machias properties have challenged the government’s claims.

The U.S. Marshals Service is expected to eventually sell the homes. But what will happen next with them remains unclear.

The Marshals Service sells or otherwise transfers forfeited and seized assets, including real estate, commercial businesses, cash, financial instruments, vehicles, jewelry, art, antiques, collectibles, vessels and aircraft through its Asset Forfeiture Program, according to its website.

Brady McCarron, deputy chief of public affairs for the Marshals Service, said Friday via phone call that he did not have specific information available about the properties in Cornville and Corinna, but would forward a request for information to the relevant division. The Morning Sentinel also submitted a Freedom of Information Act request Friday to the Marshals Service for records on the two properties.

In general, the timeline for each asset forfeiture case varies because each case is different. Before the property is put on the market and sold, there can be lengthy administrative processes. “It could take a while,” McCarron said.

Proceeds from asset sales are generally divided among several categories. Those include fines and penalties, restitution for victims, operations of the Asset Forfeiture Program itself and local law enforcement. How exactly proceeds are split up among those varies and is determined by mathematical formulas.

The Marshals Service does not invest in properties to prepare them for sale. The Asset Forfeiture Program is self-supported, with proceeds funding its operations, and does not seek to make a profit.

“We sell it as-is,” said McCarron, who added many people that purchase forfeited properties are aware they often need some amount of work.

Lizotte, the assistant U.S. Attorney listed on the forfeiture filings, said previously that federal authorities consider a property’s condition and its potential resale value among several other factors when determining whether to seek to seize it through forfeiture.

While no information was available Friday about the condition of the Cornville and Corinna homes, many of the suspected illegal marijuana grows busted in Maine left homes filled with mold and in poor condition, authorities have said.

At least one former illegal “grow house” in Belgrade, not involved in forfeiture proceedings, has returned to the real estate market after renovations.