The CEO of the company behind one of Vermont’s five licensed medical marijuana dispensaries has resigned following allegations that he used the company’s resources for personal benefit.

Hadley Ford, CEO of iAnthus Capital, immediately submitted his resignation after a special investigation uncovered $160,000 in personal loans from a managing member of one of the company’s lenders, iAnthus announced on Monday.

iAnthus Capital owns, finances and/or partners with 30 dispensaries in 11 states, and is the major financier behind Grassroots Vermont, a medical marijuana dispensary in Brandon. Hadley Ford’s sister, Alexandra, founded Grassroots Vermont in 2013.

First reported by Marijuana Business Daily, Ford resigned after two previously undisclosed personal loans were discovered. The loans, for $100,000 and $60,000 respectively, were issued by a managing member of Gotham Green Partners, a private equity firm that issued iAnthus millions in convertible notes in 2019.

iAnthus appointed a special committee to investigate the personal loans. The company concluded that this “potential or apparent” conflict of interest had no bearing on their financial relationship with Gotham Green, but Ford’s failure to disclose the loans constituted a breach of company policy. [Read more at Burlington Free Press]