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Woman Accused of Running Multi-Million Dollar Weed Delivery Service

Woman Accused of Running Multi-Million Dollar Weed Delivery Service

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Woman Accused of Running Multi-Million Dollar Weed Delivery Service

51 year old DEana Martin is accused of running an underground cannabis empire.

A woman in Massachusetts is facing charges after investigators say she ran a wildly successful, but illegal, marijuana company.

According to investigators, her cannabis empire raked in $14 million over the course of roughly two years. And although the woman being accused of the illegal activity has been charged, her trial will not formally begin until a later date.

A Very Successful—But Illegal—Marijuana Business

As reported today by local news source WHDH 7 News, the woman accused of running the massive marijuana operation is 51 year old Deana Martin.

Martin allegedly was in charge of what quickly became a huge cannabis empire. Specifically, her operation reportedly used locations in at least four different locations in Massachusetts.

According to investigations, Martin owned and managed an illegal marijuana company called Northern Herb.

On the surface, Northern Herb claimed to be a more or less legal medical marijuana company. It even had a website, where it marketed a range of cannabis products including flower, pre-rolled joints, and edibles.

But now, investigators are claiming that Northern Herb was anything but a state-approved medical marijuana provider. And law enforcement is bringing a number of complaints against Martin.

Investigators working on the case said that Northern Herb did not require customers to have a medical marijuana card.

Additionally, Martin’s company allegedly delivered marijuana to unattended locations. This, investigators said, means that anybody could have accessed the product regardless if they had a legal medical marijuana card.

Northern Herb allegedly operated from May 2016 until July 2018. At its peak, it had at least 25 employees and operated out of locations in Canton, Milton, Foxborough, and Hyde Park.

Also during that time frame, Northern Herb reportedly made $14 million. As for Martin, she reportedly made upwards of $80,000 per month.

Facing Numerous Charges

Martin’s business landed her hot water when she was arrested earlier today by officials in Milton, Massachusetts.

Obviously, the biggest charge Martin will be facing has to do with illegally possessing and selling marijuana. She is now being charged with one count of conspiring to distribute more than 100 kilograms of cannabis.

But that isn’t the only potential legal challenge she will have to deal with. In fact, investigators claim that she violated a number of other laws and regulations.

For example, she allegedly did not withhold or pay taxes on the millions the company made in sales. Similarly, Northern Herb reportedly did not pay employment taxes on its employees. Further, the company failed to issue employees W-2s or 1099s.

And to top it all off, Martin is accused of laundering money. To accomplish this, she allegedly maintained a number of bank accounts.

Many of them were listed under other people’s names. Investigators claim Martin was doing this to hide her activity and her income.

As a result of everything investigators claim Martin did, she is facing potentially hefty penalties.

According to WHDH, if she is convicted she could face a minimum of four years in prison with a maximum of 40 years.

Additionally, she could also be placed under lifetime supervised release. And finally, she could face as much as $5 million in fines.

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