Washington State Man Charged with Fraud Related to Dispensary Investment Scheme 

A Bellingham, Washington man was charged last week with fraud, theft, money laundering, and use of proceeds of criminal profiteering related to a cannabis shop investment scam, The Bellingham Herald reports. Jason Kenneth Lehman, 46, allegedly duped friends and family members out of a total of $400,000 by getting them to invest in cannabis stores that didn’t exist.  

The scheme came to light after the first relative to invest in the program discovered that none of the cannabis stores were legitimate business locations. During a meeting with investors, Lehman allegedly admitted that the shops “did not exist and never would,” and that he would find a way to repay them but never did.  

Investigators acted on a search warrant and found Lehman was not working and was receiving unemployment benefits; yet he was making payments on vehicles and spending money on personal luxuries. Authorities established probable cause to arrest Lehman in April but were unable to arrest him until September 30.  

In all, Lehman is charged with five counts of first-degree theft, five counts of money laundering, and one count of using the proceeds of criminal profiteering, for a total of 11 Class B felonies.