An Atlanta man received three years in federal prison for his role in defrauding farmers in a hemp business venture, according to the District of South Carolina U.S. Attorney’s Office. Also, he was ordered to pay over $2 million in restitution.
Atlanta Man Sentenced to 36 Months for Defrauding Farmers in Hemp Business Venturehttps://t.co/561tmAlFjo @FBIColumbia
— U.S. Attorney SC (@USAO_SC) June 14, 2023
Citing evidence presented in court, the attorney’s office reports that Rahsaan Jackson Garth, 49, formed and directed a company called Verde Leaf in 2017 shortly after being released from federal prison for being involved in a health care fraud scheme.
According to the attorney’s office, Verde Leaf was supposed to “address the challenges farmers faced in the hemp arena, including license acquisition, hemp cultivation and processing, and industry knowledge.”
On its website, the company, which has since declared bankruptcy, describes Garth as a “healthcare executive turned lifelong servant to the hemp industry.”
In the District of South Carolina on February 19, 2020, Garth’s company held a workshop for potential farmers in conjunction with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA). During the workshop, Garth represented that his company had distribution networks and deals with various companies. However, according to the Attorney’s Office, Garth was only in various stages of negotiations with many of the companies and fraudulently represented that Verde Leaf had consummated these deals.
Farmers, meanwhile, entered into contracts with Verde Leaf to grow hemp based on Garth’s conveyance of existing relationships with reputable companies.
While the company assisted the farmers with their hemp crops, it could not consummate the deals referenced by Garth at the SCDA meeting to distribute or sell products. Therefore, the company could not process the hemp or pay most farmers for their crops and declared bankruptcy.
“As a result of the false statements that lured the farmers into doing business with Garth, the farmers suffered great financial harm,” the Attorney’s Office adds.
Garth defrauded farmers in South Carolina, North Carolina, and Georgia.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network.
