Two Ohio men have been indicted by a Warren County grand jury on charges of theft, fraud, corrupt activity and illegal securities practices related to a business manufacturing fake CBD oil and medical cannabis.
Warren County Prosecutor David P. Fornshell announced charges Tuesday against Aaron Pitman, 34, of Morrow, and Ryan R. Goldschmidt, 39, of Cincinnati, alleging the pair defrauded investors through multiple commercial entities such as Oak Street Group, GGB Assets and Excelsior Leasing. The men are accused of making misrepresentations to several victims to persuade them to invest in a medical cannabis cultivation operation they claimed to be operating in California, as well as a CBD oil cartridge manufacturing business, according to a statement from Warren County Prosecutor’s Press. office
Approximately $796,714 in investor funds were deposited into bank accounts controlled by Pitman and Goldschmidt. The money was used for personal expenses and other purposes unrelated to medical cannabis or a CBD oil cartridge manufacturing business. In some cases, the couple diverted funds to pay previous lawsuits or make payments to their friends, according to one Press release.
Neither Pitman nor Goldschmidt is licensed to sell securities to investors in the state of Ohio or any other state, and despite their representations to investors, neither has prior experience in the business of licensing, growing, or selling medical cannabis. or CBD. They allegedly misrepresented to investors that Goldschmidt was a lawyer and that they would get 100% of their money back, plus additional benefits.
The victims were left with no return on their investments.
The charges are the result of an investigation by the Ohio Department of Commerce, Securities Division, and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Forensic Accounting Division.
Get daily updates on cannabis business news. Subscribe
Have an additional perspective to share? Send us a message to let us know and if our editors choose your comment, it could be included here.
Perspective to add? Suggest a review or submit a comment for review using the form below.
Sponsor Message:
TG Branfalt
TG joined Ganjapreneur in 2014 as a news editor and began hosting the Ganjapreneur podcast in 2016. He is based in upstate New York, where he also teaches media studies at a local university.
