Sheriff accused of extorting $50K from cannabis executive in licensing scheme

Boston’s sanctuary Sheriff was arrested on Friday in federal allegations, who was allegedly availing his elected post to expand $ 50,000 from a cannabis executive, seeking state approval to open a dispensary – a plan FBI director Kash Patel called a public trust betrayal.

67-year-old Safolk County Sheriff Steven Tompakins, who oversees more than 1,000 employees in the Boston-region, was handcuffed on Friday morning in Florida, when a federal grand jury made them under the color of forcibly under the color of the district of the district of the district of the US lawyer.

Patel told Fox News Digital, “When someone is entrusted to implement the law, it is accused of breaking it for personal gain, it reduces public confidence in every honest officer, which wears badges.” “The FBI will pursue corruption at every level, because no one is above the law. The people of Safok County, and the country, deserve the leaders who serve them, not themselves.”

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Tomapkins was appointed Sheriff of Safolk County Sheriff Department (SCSD) in 2013, which was selected in a special 2014 election, and was later re -selected to serve the terms of six years.

He made headlines in 2019 after booting immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) agents out of county jail, signing a eviction notice that hundreds of illegal immigrants should be taken out within 60 days, a report From Boston Herald.

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According to court documents, a cannabis company applied for a retail dispensary license in Boston through Massachusetts Canbis Control Commission (CCC). To meet the state’s positive impact plan (PIP) requirement, the company participated with the Sheriff Department, which agreed to screen and refer to graduates from its re-entry program for work in dispensary’s retail store.

The company’s partnership with SCSD was formalized in a letter signed by Tompkins in 2019 and was presented in 2020 with its dispensary license application. The Canbis Commission approved the license in 2021 and renewed it in 2022 and 2023, the company cited a partnership to meet the PIP requirement in each application.

According to court documents, to raise capital for an initial public offering (IPO) and expand as publicly businesses, authorities demanded multimilian-dollars investment from institutions and other high-net-leev investors.

By mid -2020, the company was preparing for its IPO by producing audited financial statements, hiring lawyers and receiving additional funding.

The prosecutors allege that Tomapkins pressurized the Cannabis executive for stock, reminding that they had helped the company in their license efforts. The executive feared that the Tompakins could take advantage of his position as a sheriff to weaken the partnership with the department, threatening both the license and the company’s employed IPO.

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According to court documents, in October 2020, the company asked Tomapkins to submit its license for an updated partnership letter with the renewal application. Within a month of signing the letter, and after alleged pressure on the executive, Tomapkins gained a pre-IPO stake in the company.

Prosecutors claim that in November 2020, Tompkins gave a $ 50,000 wire from an account controlled by the executive from his retirement account, with about 29,000 shares to purchase $ 1.73 in each. Following a reverse stock split, he kept the value of about 14,400 shares in $ 3.46 each.

Once the company launched its IPO in 2021, the stock value increased to $ 9.60 per share, leading to the price of Tompkins $ 50,000 to 14,417 shares to $ 138,403.

By May 2022, Tomapkins’ stock had fallen below thousands of dollars with an investment of $ 50,000, but he allegedly demanded a full return. The executive agreed, issued five checks between May 2022 and July 2023.

Prosecutors claim that some checks were marked as “loan repayment” and “.[company] Spending “in the direction of Tomapkins to hide the nature of some payment.

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American Attorney Liah Foli wrote in a statement that the elected officer, especially in law enforcement, is expected to be “not self-service”, moral, honest and law.

Foli wrote, “His alleged action is impressed for voters and taxpayers who chose him for his position, and many dedicated and honest public servants in the Safok County Sheriff Department. People of Safok County deserve better,” Foli wrote. “Public corruption is the top priority for my administration, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute anyone who uses the state of trust and power for our own benefits.”

FBI Boston Special Agent in-charge Ted Docs said that the act was “clear-cut corruption”.

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“From his first day as the Safok County Sheriff, Steven Tompakins demanded to portray himself as a person – a royal public servant and reformer, dedicated to the reason for justice. That is why it is disappointing that he is now disappointing that he is now accused of a system for gaming installed in public safety and impartial sports interests,” Docks has written in a statement. “We believe what Sheriff saw as an easy way to create a quick deer on slyness, there is clear-cut corruption under the federal law. The citizens of Safok County deserve better, not a person who is accusing a person who is accusing him of doing his own political and financial future to bank.

Tompkins, who is facing a jail sentence of up to 20 years for each count, will appear in the Boston Federal Court at a later date.