An Oklahoma man associated with more than 70 medical marijuana business licenses in the state has been indicted, along with two others, for being a “front for out-of-state individuals” to illegally obtain cultivation licenses.
Kevin Paul Pham, Alex Shiang Lin Chang and Richard Gregorio Ignacio were arrested Friday, Dec. 8 on charges in a 13-count Oklahoma Grand Jury indictment filed in Kingfisher County.
According to the indictment, Pham paid Ignacio to use his driver’s license and provide false information to state authorities to obtain licenses and registration through the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority and Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control (OBN).
Chang allegedly provided Pham “with the names and contact information for non-Oklahoma residents interested in owning marijuana grow facilities with the knowledge that said ownership was prohibited by law.” The indictment said Chang knew Pham “was engaged in the practice of submitting applications or other documents claiming fraudulent ownership interests in marijuana grow facilities.”
Attorney General Gentner Drummond has blamed a proliferation of illegal marijuana cultivation on out-of-state and international organized crime, namely from China and Mexico. Armed with new laws this year, authorities started a crackdown on illicit grow sites and other law violations.
Drummond said in a news release, “While there are many law-abiding participants in the state’s medical marijuana industry, law enforcement has seen an influx of others who are using the situation to supply black-market marijuana throughout the country. I am proud of the Multi-County Grand Jury, the Organized Crime Task Force and the state Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs — all of which are working diligently to rid Oklahoma of this criminal pestilence.”
“Over the past three years, our agency has worked tirelessly to target and dismantle criminal organizations embedded in Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program,” said OBN Director Donnie Anderson in an emailed statement. “This includes shutting down over 1,000 marijuana farms and arresting more than 200 people either tied to black market marijuana trafficking or operating with a license obtained by fraud using ‘straw owners’, or both. These cases have involved using the multi county grand jury to indict entities and individuals such as Kevin Pham who helped facilitate these fraudulent marijuana licensing schemes.”
Pham connected to several businesses in law enforcement crosshairs
The indictment accuses Pham and Ignacio with filing a false or forged instrument for Platinum Villa Inc., Purple Farm Inc., Abu Farms Inc., Aladdin Farms Inc., Valerie Farm Inc., and Liu & Chen Inc. Ignacio is named as an owner/investor for all of these businesses in the CRB Monitor database of licensed businesses.
Pham, a registered agent of Friendly Management Group in Oklahoma City, is listed as a senior manager and primary contact for these businesses. According to The Oklahoman, he is an accountant described by his attorney as a “nice normal guy.”
In 2021, Friendly Management Group and Victor Ngo, pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a bank in order to launder proceeds of marijuana sales, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Oklahoma. Ngo, who operated Cannabless in Oklahoma, used Friendly Management Group to open a bank account under the false pretenses that it was a wellness and fitness company. Ngo is also listed as the owner of Friendly Management Group in the CRB Monitor database.
Liu & Chen was the scene of a quadruple homicide in November last year. Pham was arrested a couple of days later, then released, according to The Oklahoman. Phil Bacharach, director of communications for the Office of the Attorney General, said Pham does not face charges for that case.
Pham is also listed as a senior manager and primary contact for Green Panda Cultivation in McAlester. In July, authorities raided Green Panda and allegedly found more than 4,600 plants and over 470 pounds of untracked harvested marijuana. In September, Green Panda owner Zhihui Chen and Yifan Lu were arrested under separate grand jury indictments.
In all, Pham is associated with 73 active licenses in the CRB Monitor database, as well as 81 inactive licenses and one that is approved or pending.
All three men were charged with felony conspiracy to defraud the State of Oklahoma and a pattern of criminal offenses. Pham and Ignacio were also charged with offering false or forged instruments for recordation and aggravated manufacturing of marijuana. Pham faces additional charges of trafficking in methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute marijuana, financial transactions involving proceeds from unlawful acts and possession of a firearm after a former felony conviction.
Pham was convicted in 2006 of operating a chop shop in Oklahoma County, as well as various burglary and stolen property charges, according to the indictment.
