FARMINGTON – Unsealed court docket paperwork have shed extra particulars on the federal investigation right into a purported industrial marijuana rising operation that has led to a dozen people being charged with felony drug, cash laundering, financial institution fraud, tampering and tax evasion costs, amongst others.
Details about the investigation, which was linked to a collection of regulation enforcement searches carried out all through Franklin County on July 21, 2020, turned out there after one of many people recognized as a co-conspirator, Randal Cousineau, 69, pleaded responsible on Wednesday in federal court docket to collaborating in a conspiracy to illegally domesticate and promote marijuana. Cousineau was recognized because the “main financier” of a cultivation facility in Farmington, particularly the previous shoe store positioned at 347 Excessive Avenue. The vast majority of the processed marijuana seized by federal investigators on July 21, 2020, 469 of the 551 whole kilograms listed in a court docket doc, was taken from that location.
A dozen defendants have been charged in reference to the marijuana rising operation or for an related crime. The defendants made their preliminary appearances in Bangor Thursday and Friday. Nobody has been indicted in relation to the case, and many of the people dealing with costs had been launched on private recognizance bonds final week.
In line with an affidavit filed with the federal district court docket by Federal Bureau of Investigation Particular Agent James Hendry, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and Inner Income Providers have been investigating a conspiracy referring to the economic cultivation of marijuana within the Farmington space since 2019, in addition to the alleged associated laundering of the cash garnered via the conspiracy. Per the affidavit, federal regulation enforcement believes that Lucas Sirois, 41 of Farmington, is the chief of a company that ran a number of marijuana develop operations all through Franklin County, whereas using falsified financial institution paperwork to stop detection by monetary establishments. Moreover, in accordance with the affidavit, “a good portion” of the marijuana was exported out of state. A cooperating witness with the federal investigation who labored out of the Excessive Avenue shoe store location estimated that roughly 75 p.c of the marijuana they cultivated went to licensed dispensaries and shops in Maine with the remaining 25 p.c bought on the black market.
Sirois’ legal professional, Timothy Parlatore, stated that his shopper had created a enterprise and had tried to comply with state legal guidelines.
“[Sirois] ran a enterprise,” Parlatore stated. “He created jobs. He helped individuals. He noticed an trade that was open to individuals like him. He noticed a possibility to get his household forward, that’s an excellent factor.”
Parlatore described the federal investigation’s cooperating witness as a disgruntled worker.
“The cooperating witness is somebody [Sirois] fired as a result of he came upon she was committing legal acts. She was disgruntled and determined to run to the DOJ,” he stated.
Within the affidavit, Hendry recognized two co-defendants: Brandon Dagnese, 27, of Scarborough, and Ryan Nezol, 38, of Farmington, as being liable for “black market” gross sales. Dagnese, who’s a convicted felon and due to this fact not eligible to work inside the bounds of the state’s medical marijuana program, was engaged in additional than $1 million in these transactions, Hendry wrote within the affidavit, whereas Nezol exported marijuana to New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.
As a part of the investigation, brokers realized on March 15, 2020 that Nezol deliberate to promote marijuana to 2 unnamed co-conspirators who supposed to journey from New York to Maine. New Hampshire State Police carried out a site visitors cease in New Hampshire when the people had been returning to New York and located roughly 4 kilos of marijuana. Investigators reviewed interceptions from Nezol’s cellphone after the marijuana was seized, Hendry stated, with one of many people informing Nezol that that they had been pulled over. Nezol reportedly texted “erase my #” to the person and, a couple of minutes later: “I’m certain anyone simply donate it to u. It should be legit proper. Hope your [sic] okay good luck.”
“Along with the black-market out-of-state transactions described above,” the affidavit reads, “the Sirois Group’s marijuana companies had been operated in violation of Maine’s medical marijuana legal guidelines then-in pressure. Amongst different violations Sirois engaged within the industrial manufacture of marijuana at a number of massive develop areas, and never solely on the single licensed location registered with the Workplace of Marijuana Coverage.” Different violations cited within the doc included too many crops, prohibited rising as a collective, using staff hid as particular person caregivers and using non-registered caregivers and prior felons.
Sirois’ legal professional disagreed, saying his shopper tried to comply with the Maine regulation.
“It is a case the place he did all the things he might to make sure was absolutely coated by the Maine regulation. DOJ shouldn’t be prosecuting. The federal government ought to respect the choice of Maine voters to do what they need to do in their very own state,” Parlatore stated.
The proceeds from the sale of marijuana was funneled via shell corporations, the affidavit alleges, into the acquisition of property and luxurious automobiles and into joint ventures with some co-conspirators. In line with a monetary evaluation by federal regulation enforcement, the group is believed to have used greater than 23 financial institution accounts, the vast majority of which had been within the identify of varied company entities. From 2014 via July 2020, the group is believed to have moved roughly $13.6 million in money via these accounts, Hendry wrote.
An instance of a three way partnership cited within the affidavit was with former Rangeley Selectman David Burgess, 53, who investigators consider had a “managerial function” within the group. Sirois supplied the Rangeley Web Firm, an entity managed by Burgess, with roughly $224,000 in money between March 2018 and July 21, 2020. That represented 84 p.c of the corporate’s capital funding.
“In alternate, [Burgess] superior [Sirois’] pursuits in his capability as a Rangeley Selectman, together with voting to advance to a referendum a marijuana ordinance that [Sirois] himself had authored and that will loosen restrictions on marijuana operations within the city of Rangeley,” Hendry wrote.
On March 18, 2019, Burgess moved so as to add a marijuana ordinance in town’s warrant for a city vote in June; that movement handed by a vote of three to 2, with Burgess in favor. That ordinance was later rejected by residents on the June 2019 vote, which led to a different effort by Burgess to deliver the difficulty again earlier than the city in November. Burgess is additional accused of proposing or seconding motions that will have the impact of enjoyable zoning and different restrictions referring to marijuana companies in Rangeley.
Sirois can also be alleged to have paid active-duty regulation enforcement officers to make the most of regulation enforcement assets to profit his enterprise. Sirois shaped a marijuana distribution firm with Bradley Scovil, 33, of Rangeley, and Derrick Doucette, 29, of Jay, within the late summer season of 2019. Previous to that, each males had been employed as deputies with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Workplace. In line with the affidavit, Scovil and Doucette had been “routinely current on the Shoe Store on the invitation of [Sirois],” together with whereas they had been with FCSO.
“Throughout this time, in about September 2019 via November 2019, [Scovil] and [Doucette] got a big workplace contained in the Shoe Store,” Hendry wrote within the affidavit. “[Scovil] and [Doucette] frequented the Shoe Store whereas carrying their sheriff’s deputy uniforms, and carrying their service weapons.”
Whereas employed by the FCSO, each deputies had been supplied with key entry to the shoe store location, in accordance with the affidavit, and carried out numerous duties for Sirois. Examples cited within the affidavit included having Doucette choose up roughly 12 kilos of marijuana from a Bridgton dispensary and delivering it to the shoe store, in addition to having Scovil drive via the car parking zone of the shoe store and run license plates to help Sirois in figuring out who he was using and who his prospects had been.
The affidavit consists of communications via Fb between Scovil and Sirois on Oct. 7, 2019, through which Scovil wrote: “critical they’re on to us. Somebody typed a report one of many days we had been on the shoe store, locked it, and we will’t learn it or see what it’s about however they tagged your identify in it. It is just a matter of time earlier than they haul us in and see what the deal is.”
“Fascinating… somebody will need to have acknowledged your automobiles…” Sirois wrote in response, in accordance with the affidavit.
Scovil wrote again: “Possibly? We verify our personal names periodically to see if individuals are trying us up, you up, operating our plates, and so on.”
In line with the affidavit, a search of Scovil’s telephone later positioned {a photograph} taken on Oct. 8, 2019, exhibiting a ‘Discipline Interview Report’ pertaining to an investigation of Sirois. That doc included a advice that its contents be forwarded to a DEA agent investigating Sirois.
In line with investigators, on Oct. 17, 2019, Maia USA Inc., a Sirois-owned company, bought two 2020 Ford Explorers for about $45,500 every; these automobiles had been later registered by Scovil and Doucette and pushed by them from Oct. 17 via July 21, 2020. Sirois was listed as a co-buyer. Hendry famous within the affidavit that Sirois had bought the automobiles for Scovil and Doucette when these males had been nonetheless deputies with FCSO.
Sheriff Scott Nichols stated through electronic mail final week that the FCSO was conscious of the investigation and was cooperating with the federal authorities.
“Now that is within the arms of the court docket to determine guilt or innocence,” he wrote.
Each deputies resigned from the FCSO on Nov. 25, 2019. In late 2019, Scovil and Doucette shaped a marijuana distribution firm with Sirois known as Slim Gauge Distributors, Inc. Regardless of that, investigators allege, each males continued to leverage regulation enforcement contacts to acquire info.
In April 2020, Scovil, Doucette and Sirois started to suspect that they had been below surveillance. Scovil and Doucette reached out to different, energetic members of regulation enforcement, together with Wilton Police Officer Kevin Lemay and then-Oxford County Deputy James McLamb, each of whom are named as co-defendants within the grievance. Lemay and McLamb allegedly agreed to run license plate numbers of the surveilling automobiles after which deleted textual content messages they exchanged with Scovil and Doucette.
Kayla Alves, an assistant district legal professional within the Franklin County District Legal professional’s Workplace, is alleged to have knowledgeable Scovil that investigators had been trying into the matter. Because of that info supplied to Scovil, investigators allege, Scovil contacted Sirois and alerted him that they had been below investigation. Per the affidavit, Alves additionally finally deleted textual content messages she exchanged with Scovil.
Hendry wrote within the affidavit that Alves admitted telling Scovil that he was below investigation however denied realizing he was below federal investigation.
Additionally charged in relation to the federal investigation is Kenneth Allen, 48 of Farmington. Allen ready Sirois’ tax returns from 2016 via 2019, in addition to returns for various totally different firms related to the group, together with Slim Gauge Holdings, Maia New England and CG Bio-Genomics.
Allen reportedly instructed IRS brokers that, whereas assembly with Burgess, he had urged creating fictitious historic transactions to maneuver cash from Sirois’ worthwhile companies to non-profitable ones, for the aim of decreasing his federal tax legal responsibility for 2017. Allen additionally reportedly admitted that Sirois’ 2018 returns had been additionally false: “particularly that [Allen] had filed a false Schedule C for the Homegrown Connection (a enterprise wholly owned by [Sirois]), and a false Schedule E for Slim Gauge Actual Property (one other wholly owned [Sirois] enterprise) … which detailed false enterprise transactions that didn’t happen in 2018.”
Homegrown Connection ought to have recorded a revenue of $105,659 in 2018, in accordance with the affidavit, however as an alternative reported a lack of $128,279. Equally, Slim Gauge Actual Property ought to have reported a revenue of $314,341 for 2018, however as an alternative reported “authorized expenditures” of $308,000 which successfully zeroed out the income. These bills don’t seem within the firm’s books, the affidavit signifies.
In line with the IRS evaluation, Hendry wrote, Lucas and his spouse Alisa Sirois’ earnings for 2017 ought to have been $712,784 however was reported at $112,801; whereas their true earnings for 2018 ought to have been $674,266, fairly than the $87,799 that was really reported.
“In consequence, [Allen], [Burgess] and [Sirois] fraudulently disadvantaged the federal treasury of taxes due and owing of roughly $237,659 for 2017 and $193,736 for 2018,” Hendry wrote.
On July 21, 2020, roughly 50 search and seizure warrants had been executed on areas all through Franklin County, together with the shoe store positioned on Excessive Avenue, the previous toy manufacturing unit on the Avon Valley Highway and a number of other others related to the co-defendants. In whole, federal investigators listed $425,700, 551 kilograms of processed marijuana and 4,739 crops in seizures. America Legal professional for the state of Maine has filed a civil in rem motion to grab a dozen properties.
Lucas Sirois, Burgess, Scovil, Doucette, Alisa Sirois, his father Robert Sirois, Brandon Dagnese and Ryan Nezol have been charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute managed substances. Burgess, Lucas and Alisa Sirois additionally face the cost of conspiracy to commit cash laundering.
Burgess and Lucas Sirois are named within the third rely, conspiracy to commit trustworthy providers fraud, referring to the alleged lobbying by Burgess in Rangeley. Sirois can also be named within the fourth rely, additionally conspiracy to commit trustworthy providers fraud, together with Scovil, Doucette and McLamb.
Lucas and Alisa Sirois are named within the fifth rely, financial institution fraud, and Lucas Sirois, Scovil and Doucette are named within the sixth rely, which can also be financial institution fraud. Rely seven, additionally alleging financial institution fraud, names Burgess.
Alves is called in counts eight and 9, alleging tampering with proceedings and tampering with paperwork. Lemay and McLamb are named in rely 10 and 11, respectively, each for tampering with paperwork.
Counts 12, 13 and 14 relate to the tax fraud allegations. Particularly, Lucas Sirois, Burgess and Allen have been charged with conspiracy to defraud america and impede and impair the IRS; Lucas Sirois has been charged with tax evasion and Allen has additionally been charged with tax fraud.
Cousineau pleaded responsible to conspiring to own and distribute greater than 1,000 kilograms of marijuana and 1,000 marijuana crops. The cost carries a most wonderful of $10 million and life sentence; a federal decide will determine the precise sentence following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Workplace.
