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Virginia Senator Indicted on Marijuana Trafficking and Money Laundering
· Confirmed
In Short: Virginia state senator Lillie Louise Lucas was indicted on five charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering, for allegedly running a marijuana distribution enterprise.
Virginia state senator Lillie Louise Lucas was indicted on Thursday on five charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The indictment accuses her of leading a marijuana distribution enterprise known as the 'Lucas Enterprise,' involving her family and associates.
The indictment alleges that Lucas orchestrated a multi-year scheme to enrich her criminal marijuana enterprise using her position as Chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and to financially benefit herself and her network.
Lucas is accused of leading the enterprise with a close-knit group of friends and family, including her two daughters and a grandson. The DOJ said she led the group in acquiring and distributing at least 100 kilograms of marijuana and laundering the proceeds.
Seven people in total are charged in the case, which centers on Lucas's co-ownership of a marijuana dispensary called The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth, Virginia. The indictment alleges that Lucas used her political position to shield the network from state law enforcement.
The indictment also accuses Lucas of paying $750,000 for an ownership stake in a company expected to obtain a Virginia recreational marijuana license. The charges include racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit honest-services fraud, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
FBI Director Kash Patel and U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche spoke at a news conference in Norfolk, Virginia, to discuss the charges. Patel emphasized the importance of holding those responsible for criminal conduct accountable.
Lucas, in a statement posted on her social media account, said she would not be intimidated or bullied by the federal government. She claimed the charges amounted to the federal government wielding its 'full weight' against an 82-year-old great-grandmother.
The charges reflect the alleged behavior of a public servant who put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve, according to Blanche. He stated that the investigation had begun 'long before' the Trump administration.
The indictment alleges that Lucas used her political position to influence state policy toward her business, seeking 'generational wealth.'
Background
Virginia state senator Lillie Louise Lucas was indicted on five charges, including drug trafficking and money laundering, for allegedly running a marijuana distribution enterprise.
What's confirmed
- "[They] orchestrated a multi-year scheme to enrich their own criminal marijuana enterprise, âthe Lucas Enterprise,' using Lucasâ position as Chairwoman of the Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee to insulate the enterprise from criminal scrutiny and influencing legislation to financially benefit themselves," FBI Director Kash Patel said in the statement.
- In total, seven people are charged in the case, which hinges on her co-ownership of a marijuana dispensary called The Cannabis Outlet in Portsmouth, Va.
- Marijuana remains federally illegal for any purpose outside limited research, though Virginia and 23 other states have legalized it under local law for recreational use.
- The powerful Democrat “used her political position in the Virginia state senate to insulate the Lucas enterprise from criminal scrutiny, to further the goal of the wealth accumulation for the Lucas Enterprise and to seek legislation benefiting the Lucas Enterprise,” the indictment alleges.
- Virginia does not currently allow recreational marijuana dispensaries, but does allow businesses to dispense marijuana for medical purposes.
- The voter-approved plan was struck down by Virginia’s supreme court in May.
- A 45-page indictment unsealed Thursday charged Lucas with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana, conspiracy to launder money, conspiracy to commit honest-services fraud, and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
- Prosecutors alleged that Lucas led the enterprise, approved criminal activity, arranged for the acquisition and distribution of marijuana, supervised the laundering of proceeds, and used her political position to shield the network from state law enforcement.
- "Today, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the full weight of the federal government have been wielded against an 82-year-old great-grandmother," she wrote.
- "The charges alleged in this indictment reveal the behavior of a public servant who put her own financial interests before the people she was elected to serve. Our federal prosecutors will continue to be guided by the facts and evidence that led a grand jury to indict Ms. Lucas and her alleged co-conspirators."
- "Louise Lucas has served in a position of public trust in the Commonwealth of Virginia for over three decades," Blanche said in a DOJ statement.
What's still developing
- The pot shops' openings came nearly two years before Virginia officially legalized marijuana for recreational use on July 1, 2021.
- Stamos for the Eastern District of Virginia speak in Norfolk, Virginia.
- Prosecutors say another daughter, Theresa Lucas-Lamb, and Lucas-Lamb’s son, Ryan Eichelberger, helped acquire marijuana, supervise its distribution and manage the business.
- The FBI said at the time that the search was part of an ongoing investigation.
- The attorney general hit back at those allegations sharply, arguing the investigation had begun “long before” Trump was reelected, but declined to answer specifically as to when the investigation initially began.
- “Putting together a public corruption case takes a lot of effort and manpower, and the prosecutors bravely and courageously waded through mountains of material, along with the FBI investigators and agents, to reach this decision point today and present this material to the grand jury,” Patel said.