How Much Money Do You Think You Can Make Selling Pot?
California voters passed Proposition 215 in 1996 to allow certain individuals to use medicinal marijuana. Since then, there have been many marijuana dispensaries opening throughout California. These marijuana dispensaries can be highly profitable, but can lead you to trouble if you do not disclose all of the money you earn from your medicinal marijuana dispensary.
John Melvin Walker’s Marijuana Business
John Melvin Walker did pretty well in his marijuana “gig.” He owned 9 medicinal marijuana dispensaries throughout Orange and Los Angeles counties. His marijuana business earned him 25 MILLION DOLLARS over the course of six short years. That’s not a bad business, but Mr. Walker had a slight problem: he did not pay all of his taxes.
Mr. Walker was being prosecuted by the federal government for failing to pay taxes on most of his $25 million income. In fact, Mr. Walker admitted to earning $11.4 million in 2009, but only reported income of $200,180. He also admitted to owing over $900,000 in taxes to the federal government for the 2009 tax year alone. Not disclosing your actual income to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) can get you in a lot of trouble. He pled guilty to federal drug trafficking and tax offenses on April 1, 2013.
Walker’s Punishment
The Los Angeles Daily Journal reports that as part of a plea bargain, Mr. Walker agreed to pay the IRS more than $2.4 million, as well as another $1.8 million in restitution to the California Board of Equalization. In addition, he agreed to forfeit $25 MILLION in illegally obtained income, which includes his $1.7 million home in San Clemente, multiple mobile homes, some rental properties, and his interest in two strip clubs.
Mr. Walker is scheduled to be sentenced on July 22, 2013. He faces a maximum sentence of life in federal prison and a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison. As part of his plea agreement, Mr. Walker has agreed not to argue for a sentence of less than 15 years in federal prison. It is clear that Mr. Walker is going to prison for a long time.
The moral of the story is that selling pot legally can make you a lot of money… if you report that income to the IRS. If you fail to report all of your income to the IRS, then you might face the same unfortunate fate as Mr. Walker.
California Criminal Defense Attorney
If you or a loved one is accused of committing a federal drug offense, you need an experienced California criminal defense attorney on your side. At Wallin & Klarich, our attorneys have over 40 years of experience helping our clients defend themselves against drug charges and avoid lengthy prison sentences. We understand that being charged with any drug offense can be extremely stressful for you and we are here to help. Our skilled criminal defense attorneys will be available to answer any question you may have. We have offices in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Victorville, Ventura, West Covina, Sherman Oaks, and Torrance. Call us today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245. We will get through this together.
