IE - Ten years for G3 Holistics owner

Aaron Sandusky, who federal prosecutors said used the “perceived ambiguity” of California’s medical marijuana laws to create an illegal, for-profit operation that included a cultivation warehouse in Ontario and dispensaries in Moreno Valley, Upland and Colton, was sentenced to 10 years in prison Monday, Jan. 7.

Sandusky, 42, of Rancho Cucamonga, was the co-founder and owner of G3 Holistics. He was convicted in October of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute hundreds of pounds of marijuana, prosecutors said. The amount was derived from the jury’s finding that each count involved at least 1,000 marijuana plants.

Investigators alleged G3 used California's medical marijuana laws as a cover for an illegal grow-and-sell operation instead of a nonprofit cultivation collective for those with a doctor’s recommendation to use marijuana, as allowed by California’s Prop. 215 and subsequent state laws regulating medical marijuana.

Federal prosecutors in California said in late 2011 they would begin investigating dispensary operations they believed were skirting the state’s regulations.
Under federal law, marijuana is an illegal drug in all circumstances.

Federal agents and other investigators claimed those who became G3 customers were not involved in cultivation. Instead, the supply of marijuana came from the growing operation in the Ontario warehouse.

In a civil forfeiture complaint, the government claimed that a forensic investigation by the IRS identified 19 bank accounts linked to G3 Holistics Inc. or individuals connected with it. The accounts had received $3.3 million in deposits during an eight-month period in 2011, with withdrawals nearly equaling that amount. The IRS concluded it was to make G3 appear to be a nonprofit organization.

Government attorneys said in a sentencing memorandum that Sandusky had no altruistic goals in establishing G3 Holistics, but instead used it to replace the income he lost in the collapse of his real estate business.

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Perfextionist420 said:

I respect capitalism but he took it way to far, guy was asking for it drawing this much attention should have just cut himself a small piece of the pie and flew under the radar no need to be that greedy

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curious2garden said:

Hi Perfextionist420, how are you? I haven't seen you in quite awhile.

I don't know anything about this guy personally. All I can say is big pharma is probably the greediest thing I've ever seen. Look at what we pay for drugs vs those same drugs in almost any other nation.

These companies suppress useful drugs to keep profits high for symptomatic treatment etc.... I have a hard time seeing the tactics used against the dispensaries and growers (even the greedy ones), under the DEA's guise of 'they weren't being compassionate' when this is all being done to suppress the small grower so big pharma can take over when their solution is ready.

It just seems wrong that our government has been co-opted so that the real greedy corporate thieves can take over. This guy is small potatoes compared to IG Farben, J&J, Pfizer, Roche et. al.

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