Disgraced Calif. attorney sentenced to 25 years after CBD tequila scam

A California man was sentenced last week to 25 years in jail after swindling investors out of nearly $18 million in an elaborate CBD scam that involved a fake Kern County hemp farm and cannabis-infused tequila.

Mark Roy Anderson, 70, pleaded guilty in 2024 to two counts of wire fraud related to the investment scheme. During last week’s sentencing, Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha called Anderson an “incorrigible con man,” according to a Department of Justice press release.

“The magnitude of the fraud is breathtaking … the [victims’ statements reflect] the depth of the harm. Many have lost their life savings reflecting decades of hard work,” Aenlle-Rocha said.

Prosecutors said Anderson raised more than $18.8 million from 45 investors between June 2020 and May 2023. He told investors that he was running three companies — Harvest Farm Group, Bio Pharma and Verta Bottling — that grew industrial hemp and sold a variety of products, including CBD-infused olive oil, CBD-infused tequila, CBD isolate and Delta 8, a psychoactive substance used in hemp products.

Hemp is a legal category of cannabis that has attracted investors since it was legalized by Congress in 2018.

Anderson, who lived in Beverly Hills, told his investors he had millions of dollars in orders for his products but was instead spending investor’s money on over a dozen cars and a home in Ojai. He has agreed to forfeit those items, which include a Ferrari, the DOJ said.

The former attorney has a long history of business problems, including being disbarred in Nevada in 1993 after being charged and sentenced to seven years in prison for mail fraud, as well as being sentenced to 11 years in jail for a fraud scheme in 2014, according to Law360.com.

Anderson was out on supervised release while still serving a criminal sentence when he bilked investors out of money during his latest scheme, the DOJ said. He has been in federal custody since May 2023. Aenlle-Rocha said during sentencing that he wanted to protect the public from the con man “for as long as possible.”

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