Convicted Con Artist in Southern California Pleads Guilty in an $18 Million Cannabis Scam

A convicted California con artist has pleaded guilty in another scam, admitting that he swindled investors out of more than $18 million by concocting phony cannabis businesses shortly after being released from prison in a prior criminal case, federal prosecutors said.

Mark Roy Anderson, 69, pleaded guilty Friday to two counts of wire fraud after investigators said he lured his victims with false claims that he ran companies that invested in hemp farms and cannabis-infused retail products, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

He launched his sham marijuana businesses, including one called Harvest Farm Group, immediately after his May 2019 release from a Texas prison where he had served more than 11 years for an oil investment scam, officials said.

Read the source article at Associated Press