Beverly Hills man sentenced for stealing over $18 million through cannabis-related scams

A Beverly Hills man was sentenced to 25 years in prison for scamming over $18 million from victims through cannabis-related cons.

Mark Roy Anderson, 69, was sentenced Wednesday for stealing around $18.4 million from investors through fake claims that his companies were involved in hemp farms, cannabis-infused retail products and a sham bottling business, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Instead of investing the funds as promised, Anderson used the money on personal expenses such as real estate in Ojai and purchasing 15 vehicles, including a Ferrari, officials said.

At the time of the schemes, Anderson had multiple prior fraud convictions. One scheme was committed while he was in home confinement after being released from federal prison. The second scheme was committed while he was on supervised release for a fraud conviction.

In the first scheme from June 2020 to April 2021, officials said Anderson “tricked investors into providing funding for his company, called Harvest Farm Group.”

The company allegedly processed hemp that was grown on a farm into “medical-grade cannabidiol (CBD) isolate – a chemical found in marijuana – to be sold for a substantial profit.”

Anderson falsely told victims he owned and operated the Kern County farm and that he had already completed profitable harvests. He claimed he was using his own machinery to “convert the hemp into CBD isolate and Delta 8, a psychoactive substance that, like CBD isolate, could be used in consumer products ranging from olive oil to body cream,” the DA’s office said.

To prevent investors from asking for collections or reporting him to law enforcement, Anderson falsely told them that product sales from the farm-grown hemp were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He then falsely promised to pay the victims back and that some of the money stemmed from sales recently made to Canadian companies.

In the second scheme from April 2021 to May 2023, Anderson lied to investors that his company Bio Pharma manufactured and sold products infused with CBD including CBD-infused avocado oil, olive oil, pain cream, gummies, tequila, and chili oil. His other company, Verta Bottling, allegedly manufactured and sold beverages and a variety of food products.

Anderson told victims his companies owned millions of dollars worth of assets including hemp biomass, CBD isolate, CBD oil, manufacturing equipment and an assignable lease for a warehouse to manufacture and sell products.

He told investors that his bottling companies had a $10 million purchase order from suppliers and drafted fake legal and business documents to support those claims, the DA’s office said. Fake samples of the alleged products he was selling were also given to investors.

In total, both schemes netted Anderson around $18,376,150 from 45 victims, according to court documents. He pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud in April 2024.

“The magnitude of the fraud is breathtaking,” said Judge Aenlle-Rocha at Wednesday’s hearing. “The [victims’ statements reflect] the depth of the harm. Many have lost their life savings reflecting decades of hard work.”

Aenlle-Rocha described Anderson as “an accomplished and incorrigible con man” and stated that “the public must be protected from him for as long as possible.”

“The defendant stole more than $18 million from dozens of investors by promising quick returns on their investments into hemp farms and other exotic investments,” said Joseph McNally, acting U.S. Attorney. “Today’s sentence takes him off the street so that he cannot harm other victims.”

Anderson has agreed to “forfeit his ill-gotten gains from these schemes” which include the Ojai real estate, Ferrari and other items, prosecutors said.

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