New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James.
Photograph courtesy Workplace of Legal professional Normal Letitia James
New York Legal professional Normal Letitia James has secured a $6 million judgment in opposition to the proprietor of Huge Chief Smoke Store (Huge Chief), an unlicensed hashish retailer in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.
James mentioned on Wednesday that Huge Chief offered hashish for greater than a 12 months with out a license and ignored repeated orders by the Workplace of Hashish Administration (OCM) and different regulation enforcement authorities to cease working with out a license.
She mentioned the Workplace of the Legal professional Normal (OAG) and OCM obtained a judicial closing order that shut down Huge Chief in December 2023.
James mentioned this judgment requires Huge Chief’s proprietor to pay practically $5.9 million in penalties for promoting hashish with out a license and persevering with to take action after being ordered by OCM to cease, $121,000 in disgorgement of unlawful earnings, and $44K in prices and lawyer’s charges.
“Guidelines and rules, particularly over the hashish trade, are designed to guard New York shoppers and maintain neighborhoods secure,” mentioned Legal professional Normal James. “Huge Chief Smoke Store ignored repeated warnings to cease working with out a license, and as a substitute, they saved their doorways open, placing New Yorkers in danger.
“My workplace secured a $6 million judgment in opposition to the homeowners of Huge Chief Smoke Store for overtly violating the regulation and disrupting the local people,” she added. “Hopefully, this judgment will function a warning to anybody who thinks they’ll ignore our legal guidelines and endanger our communities.”
“New Yorkers want and count on a secure, regulated hashish market the place enterprise homeowners play by the principles,” mentioned Sen. Andrew Gounardes. “By repeatedly refusing to do the precise factor, Huge Chief did an immense disservice to our group in Bay Ridge and to all of the licensed retailers working in New York.
“I’m grateful to Legal professional Normal James for holding Huge Chief accountable,” he added. “Let this be a message to all different retailers making an attempt to skirt the regulation: New York will shut you down.”
“Of all of the unlicensed hashish operators who labored to undermine the rollout of the legalized hashish trade in New York, Huge Chief was one of many worst dangerous actors I’ve seen,” mentioned New York Metropolis Council Member Justin Brannan.
“Past endangering their prospects and our group by promoting untaxed, unregulated, and unlawful merchandise, they have been dangerous neighbors who hosted criminal activity, incessantly trashed the realm exterior their premises, and blatantly mocked and provoked residents, elected officers, and regulation enforcement within the press.
“Folks in Bay Ridge took discover – Huge Chief was definitely not the one unlawful hashish retailer in our neighborhood, however they generated extra complaints to my workplace,” he added. “Within the one-plus 12 months they have been open than some other single authorized or unlawful institution in my district since I took workplace in 2018. I’m grateful to Legal professional Normal James for ensuring Huge Chief should now pay for the worth.”
James mentioned New York’s Hashish Legislation requires any one that cultivates, processes or sells any hashish product to be registered and licensed by the New York State Hashish Management Board.
She mentioned the regulation imposes a penalty of as much as $10,000 for every day a person sells hashish with out a license and a penalty of as much as $20,000 for every day a person continues to promote hashish after receiving an order to stop working from OCM.
The New York Legal professional Normal mentioned extra revenue-based civil penalties might also be imposed primarily based on the quantity of unlicensed gross sales.
She mentioned the $6 million judgment in opposition to Huge Chief Smoke Store resulted from a mix of disgorgement, administrative fines, day by day penalties, and revenue-based penalties for Huge Chief’s unlicensed actions.
James mentioned Huge Chief Smoke Store had been promoting hashish with out a license since at the least November 2022.
In August 2023, OCM and the New York State Division of Taxation and Finance (DTF) investigators inspected Huge Chief, confirmed Huge Chief was promoting hashish with out a license, and seized greater than 400 kilos of hashish and hashish merchandise.
On the inspection, James mentioned OCM served Huge Chief with an order to cease working with out a license and posted the violation, stop order, and warning notices informing the general public of the hazards of illicit hashish on the entrance home windows of the shop.
In a follow-up inspection in October 2023, she mentioned OCM investigators noticed that the violation, stop order, and warning paperwork OCM posted on the entrance home windows of Huge Chief have been eliminated or lined over and that the shop was nonetheless actively promoting hashish with out a license.
Throughout the inspection, James mentioned investigators seized greater than 200 kilos of illicit hashish and issued one other violation discover and order to cease working.
She mentioned OAG and OCM obtained a courtroom order mandating the closure of Huge Chief in December 2023.
Legal professional Normal James mentioned hashish merchandise offered by unlicensed companies aren’t lab examined by OCM-licensed services, could be unsafe to eat, and aren’t taxed.
She mentioned OAG is permitted upon request by OCM to deliver a continuing in opposition to any one that violates the Hashish Legislation.
That is the most recent judgment secured by Legal professional Normal James in opposition to unlicensed hashish shops in New York.
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n October 2024, Legal professional Normal James and OCM secured a $9.5 million judgment in opposition to an unlicensed hashish retailer proprietor in Ontario County.
In Might 2024, Legal professional Normal James and OCM secured a $15.2 million judgment in opposition to the proprietor of seven unlicensed hashish shops in upstate New York.
