A Beverly Hills man pleaded guilty to scamming over $18 million from victims through cannabis-related cons.
Mark Roy Anderson, 69, pleaded guilty Thursday to stealing around $18.4 million from investors through fake claims that his companies were involved in hemp farms, cannabis-infused retail products and a sham bottling business, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
At the time of the schemes, authorities said Anderson had multiple prior fraud convictions. One scheme was committed while he was in home confinement after being released from federal prison. The second scheme was committed as he was on supervised release for a fraud conviction.
In the first scheme from June 2020 to April 2021, officials said Anderson “tricked investors into providing funding for his company, called Harvest Farm Group.”
The company allegedly processed hemp that was grown on a farm into “medical-grade cannabidiol (CBD) isolate – a chemical found in marijuana – to be sold for a substantial profit.”
Anderson falsely told victims he owned and operated the Kern County farm and that he had already completed profitable harvests. He claimed he was using his own machinery to “convert the hemp into CBD isolate and Delta 8, a psychoactive substance that, like CBD isolate, could be used in consumer products ranging from olive oil to body cream,” the DA’s office said.
To prevent investors from asking for collections or reporting him to law enforcement, Anderson falsely told them that product sales from the farm-grown hemp were just delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
He then falsely promised he would pay the victims back and that some of the money stemmed from sales recently made to Canadian companies.
In the second scheme from April 2021 to May 2023, Anderson lied to investors that his company Bio Pharma manufactured and sold products infused with CBD including CBD-infused avocado oil, olive oil, pain cream, gummies, tequila, and chili oil. His other company, Verta Bottling, allegedly manufactured and sold beverages and a variety of food products.
Anderson told victims his companies owned millions of dollars worth of assets including hemp biomass, CBD isolate, CBD oil, manufacturing equipment and an assignable lease for a warehouse to manufacture and sell products.
He told investors that his bottling companies had a $10 million purchase order from suppliers and drafted fake legal and business documents to support those claims, the DA’s office said. Fake samples of the alleged products he was selling were also given to investors.
Instead of investing the funds as promised, Anderson spent the money on personal expenses such as real estate in Ojai and purchasing 15 vehicles, including a Ferrari, officials said.
In total, both schemes netted Anderson around $18,376,150, according to court documents.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Aug. 23. If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 20 years in prison for each count.
The case remains under investigation by the FBI.