{"id":5153,"date":"2023-01-24T04:20:49","date_gmt":"2023-01-24T12:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?p=5153"},"modified":"2023-01-24T10:08:44","modified_gmt":"2023-01-24T18:08:44","slug":"fake-cannabis-billionaire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/","title":{"rendered":"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Law enforcement and the court system continues to crack down on illegal cannabis operations as the legal adult-use cannabis provides users a safe, controlled way to use marijuana. Perhaps no story about illegal cannabis operations is as strange as the one about the fake cannabis billionaire caught in southern California.<\/p>\n

When police caught up to the fake cannabis billionaire, Justin Costello, he was hiking through a remote area of southern California. He had $70,000 in U.S. and Mexican cash, a fake Mexican ID, and gold bars in a backpack. Apparently, Costello had decided to make a run into Mexico, authorities told<\/a> UPI. Since his arrest, Costello, 42, has pled guilty to securities fraud.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s another cautionary tale about why cannabis consumers and investors should ensure they are associating with people and businesses working within the parameters of the legal cannabis products marketplace.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lying About Education, Wealth and His Business<\/h2>\n

In the years before an FBI SWAT team caught up to him, Costello kept busy telling many different falsehoods on a wide variety of topics, according to UPI, CNBC<\/a> and other news agencies.<\/p>\n

Those include acting as a fake cannabis billionaire and posing as a twice-wounded Special Forces Iraq veteran. He also claimed he graduated from the University of Minnesota and had a master\u2019s degree in business from Harvard University. He also told potential investors in his company that he had spent 14 years on Wall Street and managed money for wealth investors.<\/p>\n

In addition to those falsehoods, Costello also allegedly misused investors\u2019 money. Some of it went to uses far removed from the cannabis business. For example, Costello used about $42,000 of his investors\u2019 money to pay for his wedding. According to CNBC, the wedding included a cake and an ice sculpture that featured the James Bond 007 logo.<\/p>\n

Owes Investors $35 Million<\/h3>\n

The plea agreement signed by Costello says he lied about his qualifications from July 2019 through May 2021, according to CNBC and UPI. During that time, more than 7,500 investors bought and sold stock in his publicly traded company called GRN Holding Corp. Those investors collectively lost about $25 million during that time period.<\/p>\n

Investors collectively lost about $6 million through another Costello company, Hempstract. Also, through a third company, Pacific Banking Corp., Costello fraudulently diverted $3.7 million given to the company by three marijuana businesses that paid him for banking services, according to the plea agreement quoted by multiple news agencies.<\/p>\n

Finally, Costello also made about $625,000 through buying large blocks of stocks in companies and then paying another person to promote the companies on Twitter, encouraging more people to buy and boost the stock price. Costello would then sell at a profit in what is known as a \u201cpump and dump\u201d scheme.<\/p>\n

Costello now faces up to 10 years in prison and must repay his investors a total of $35 million, according to CNBC and UPI.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Law enforcement continues to crack down on illegal cannabis operations, including a scheme by one fake cannabis billionaire to steal millions from investors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":5154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1385,1381,1382],"yoast_head":"\nFake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud | Justin Costello<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Law enforcement continues to stop illegal cannabis operations, including a scheme by a fake cannabis billionaire to steal millions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud | Justin Costello\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Law enforcement continues to stop illegal cannabis operations, including a scheme by a fake cannabis billionaire to steal millions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dispensaries\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dispensariescom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-24T12:20:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-24T18:08:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/fake-cannabis-billionaire.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dispensaries Editor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@dispensariescom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dispensaries Editor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/\",\"name\":\"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud | Justin Costello\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-24T12:20:49+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-24T18:08:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2935feeb3a368f3c87819d4c4d4cad0\"},\"description\":\"Law enforcement continues to stop illegal cannabis operations, including a scheme by a fake cannabis billionaire to steal millions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Dispensaries\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2935feeb3a368f3c87819d4c4d4cad0\",\"name\":\"Dispensaries Editor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d30250f23451474024d7b90b1b0b748?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d30250f23451474024d7b90b1b0b748?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Dispensaries Editor\"},\"description\":\"The editorial staff at Dispensaries.com are industry insiders, focused on bringing you authoritative and in depth coverage of the legal marijuana industry. We cover everything to the business trends, latest products and even help the cannicurious people better understand cannabis and the industry around it.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dispensariescom\/\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/dispensariescom\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/author\/dispensaries-editor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud | Justin Costello","description":"Law enforcement continues to stop illegal cannabis operations, including a scheme by a fake cannabis billionaire to steal millions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud | Justin Costello","og_description":"Law enforcement continues to stop illegal cannabis operations, including a scheme by a fake cannabis billionaire to steal millions.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/","og_site_name":"Dispensaries","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dispensariescom\/","article_published_time":"2023-01-24T12:20:49+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-01-24T18:08:44+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":650,"url":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/fake-cannabis-billionaire.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Dispensaries Editor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@dispensariescom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Dispensaries Editor","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/","url":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/","name":"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud | Justin Costello","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2023-01-24T12:20:49+00:00","dateModified":"2023-01-24T18:08:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2935feeb3a368f3c87819d4c4d4cad0"},"description":"Law enforcement continues to stop illegal cannabis operations, including a scheme by a fake cannabis billionaire to steal millions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/fake-cannabis-billionaire\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Fake Cannabis Billionaire Pleads Guilty to Fraud"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/","name":"Dispensaries","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/b2935feeb3a368f3c87819d4c4d4cad0","name":"Dispensaries Editor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d30250f23451474024d7b90b1b0b748?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9d30250f23451474024d7b90b1b0b748?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Dispensaries Editor"},"description":"The editorial staff at Dispensaries.com are industry insiders, focused on bringing you authoritative and in depth coverage of the legal marijuana industry. We cover everything to the business trends, latest products and even help the cannicurious people better understand cannabis and the industry around it.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dispensariescom\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/dispensariescom"],"url":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/author\/dispensaries-editor\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5153"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5153"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5156,"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5153\/revisions\/5156"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dispensaries.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}