The former CEO of weed delivery app Eaze should get a light sentence after helping convict his alleged co-conspirators in a scheme to conceal $150 million worth of federally illegal cannabis payments from banks, Manhattan federal prosecutors have said.
A New York federal court's recent decision in U.S. v. Akhavan, holding a $17 million forfeiture request for cannabis bank fraud unconstitutionally excessive, reveals the need to reform sentencing laws that overemphasize crimes' financial elements even when tenuously related to defendants' intent, say Lloyd Liu and Hilary LoCicero at Bennett LoCicero.
Feds Seek Substantial Sentences Against Weed Fraudsters law360.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from law360.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Two Men from the “Uber of Pot” Convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud
Eaze Technologies made quite the splash when it burst onto the cannabis scene advertising direct delivery of marijuana products in a matter of hours. With the help of two consultants, Hamid “Ray” Akhavan and Ruben Weigand, Eaze was able to gain a significant market advantage by offering customers in California and Oregon the option to pay with a credit or debit card. This was virtually unprecedented because marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, and as a result, most federally regulated banks are unwilling to process transactions related to the sale of marijuana. So how was Eaze able to convince banks to process these transactions? As it turns out, they weren’t.
Geldwäsche-Verdacht bei Wirecard: Mit Fucking hell wurde der Ganove gefeiert n-tv.de - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from n-tv.de Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.