TULSA, OKLA. (KTUL) — Two Tulsa County residents and a third person have been indicted in an alleged conspiracy involving illegal marijuana operations.
Prosecutors allege 34-year-old Kody Sumter recruited Oklahoma residents to serve as “straw owners” on licenses and registrations of medical marijuana grow businesses.
According to Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, Sumter allegedly connected these residents to nonresidents and charged non-residents a fee to partially pay the residents for their information.
According to Drummond, such schemes in the past have been used tocircumvent residency requirements for medical marijuana grow licensing.
Michael Dudek, 35, and Dengfeng Huang, 44, were also indicted for knowingly providing fraudulent documentation and information to obtain medical marijuana licensing and registration.
The indictment indicates Sumter paid Dudek to be a straw owner in a Seminole County marijuana grow operation, and connected Dudek to a nonresident.
Sumter is also accused of submitting fraudulent information to the state claiming he owed 75% of a medical marijuana grow in Ada, and that Huang owned the other 25%.
“These cases illustrate how unscrupulous individuals have exploited Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry for nefarious and illegal criminal activity,” Drummond said. “While many individuals are lawfully abiding by the regulations governing medical marijuana, law enforcement is tirelessly cracking down on the bad actors who are feeding the nation’s illegal marijuana market. These ‘straw ownership’ schemes made a mockery of our laws, and they will not be tolerated.”
“This is another example of our commitment to aggressively combat these criminal organizations seeking to get a foothold in Oklahoma,” said OBN Director Donnie Anderson. “Working alongside our partners at the Attorney General’s Office and the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority, we continue to dramatically reduce the number of illegal marijuana businesses that have been operating with fraudulent ‘straw ownership’ schemes and moving product to the illicit market out of state.”
Sumter is charged with conspiracy to defraud the State and aggravated manufacturing of a controlled dangerous substance.
Huang is charged with conspiracy to defraud the State, aggravated manufacturing of a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana), and trafficking of a controlled dangerous substance in excess of 25 pounds (marijuana).
Dudek is charged with conspiracy to defraud the State and aggravated manufacturing of a controlled dangerous substance (marijuana).
SIGN UP FOR THE CHANNEL 8 NEWSLETTER
Two Tulsa County residents and a third person have been indicted in an alleged conspiracy involving illegal marijuana operations.Prosecutors allege 34 year old Read More