skip to Main Content
Fake cannabis billionaire Justin Costello pleads guilty in $35 million fraud, with recommended prison term of 10 years

Justin Costello, who posed as a billionaire and twice-wounded Special Forces Iraq veteran to dupe investors while portraying himself as a legal cannabis mogul, pleaded guilty Wednesday to securities fraud.

Under a plea agreement with Costello, prosecutors will recommend a sentence of 10 years in prison, with Costello echoing that call and being barred from asking for less time than that.

Costello also agreed to pay victims of his frauds — which related to cannabis firms, a would-be bank, and stock pump-and-dumps — not less than $35 million in restitution.

Costello’s guilty plea in federal court in Seattle came three months after an FBI SWAT team apprehended the 42-year-old in a remote area of southern California, carrying a backpack containing gold bars, $70,000 in U.S. and Mexican currency, and a fake ID.

Days earlier, he had failed to surrender as agreed to face a 25-count indictment in the case.

That indictment charged Costello with three counts of securities fraud and 22 counts of wire fraud.

His guilty plea Wednesday was to a single count of securities fraud, but it covered much of the criminal conduct alleged in the indictment.

Prosecutors agreed as part of the plea deal not to file criminal charges against Costello’s wife “for any offenses known” to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington in connection with the investigation. [Read More @ CNBC]

 

This Post Has 0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Stories

4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana’s high holiday

Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in legal-weed states thank…

Budget deal ends marijuana potency tax and targets illegal shops in New York

The state budget that’s expected to be adopted in the coming days calls for repealing the potency tax on marijuana products as well as new regulations intended to give local municipalities, including…

4/20 grew from humble roots to marijuana’s high holiday

SEATTLE (AP) — Saturday marks marijuana culture’s high holiday, 4/20, when college students gather — at 4:20 p.m. — in clouds of smoke on campus quads and pot shops in…

Amended CT Bill Creates New Hemp Categories

Significant adjustments have been made to Connecticut House Bill No. 5150, the omnibus cannabis/hemp legislation that is waiting to be taken up by the full House. An amended version of…

More Categories

Back To Top
×Close search
Search