Overview

• Court filings allege he threatened to jeopardize a re-entry partnership required by the state’s Positive Impact Plan to force a cannabis executive into selling him pre-IPO shares.
• In November 2020 he wired $50,000 from his retirement account to purchase roughly 28,883 shares at $1.73 each, later holding about 14,417 shares after a reverse split.
• After the stock’s value declined in May 2022, prosecutors say he coerced a full $50,000 refund via five checks, some marked as loan repayments or expenses to disguise their origin.
• He was taken into custody in the Southern District of Florida on August 7 pending an initial federal appearance in that jurisdiction.
• If convicted on two extortion counts, he faces up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and $250,000 in fines per count.