When
states
began
to
legalize
the
production
and
sale
of
weed,
people
were
quick
to
try
and
make
a
quick
buck
off
the
blunts
being
passed
around.
2020
was
a
big
year
for
lawyers
and
their
burgeoning
cannabis
practices.
Between
consumer
demand
and
the
legal
ambiguities
of
weed
being
legal
in
some
states
while
also
being
a
Schedule
1
drug
federally,
the
clear
legal
ambiguity
put
dollar
signs
in
many
a
lawyers’
eyes.
For
example,
DLA
Piper
made
headlines
when
they
announced
their
cannabis
practice.
Biglaw
firms
weren’t
the
only
ones
that
wanted
a
slice
of
the
leaf.
One
attorney’s
attempt
to
cash
in
on
the
cash
crop
earned
him
decades
behind
bars.
My
News
LA
has
coverage:
Mark
Roy
Anderson,
70,
who
was
living
in
Beverly
Hills
while
on
supervised
release
after
serving
more
than
11
years
in
federal
prison
in
the
earlier
case,
pleaded
guilty
in
April
2024
to
two
federal
wire
fraud
counts,
according
to
the
U.S.
Attorney’s
Office.
…
[He]
was
sentenced
Wednesday
to
25
years
behind
bars
for
duping
investors
out
of
about
$18.4
million…by
falsely
claiming
that
his
companies
invested
in
high-profit
hemp
farms
and
cannabis-infused
retail
products
as
well
as
a
sham
bottling
business.
The
current
meta
for
scamming
people
for
millions
is
running
for
office
and
launching
a
bitcoin,
but
Anderson’s
scamming
happened
between
2020
and
2021.
Selling
snake
oil
back
then
would
have
been
a
little
too
on
the
nose,
but
the
booming
CBD
and
Delta
8
markets
easily
lended
themselves
to
swindling
investors
greedy
for
quick
returns
out
of
their
cash.
Anderson
is
ultimately
responsible
for
45
investors
losing
~$18.4
million
by
working
with
him.
You
can
shame
him
for
frauding
his
investors
and
ending
up
in
the
big
house
—
you
probably
should
—
but
you’ve
gotta
give
him
credit
for
at
least
going
big.
Remember:
there’s
a
line
between
getting
paid
to
zealously
represent
your
clients
and
using
your
law
degree
to
siphon
people’s
bank
accounts.
Make
sure
you
and
your
clients
know
which
side
you’re
on.
Disbarred
Attorney
Sentenced
25
Years
for
Hemp
Farm
Fraud
Scheme
[My
News
LA]
Earlier:
There
Seems
To
Be
A
New
Disbarment
Baseline
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, a
published
author
on
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected] and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.