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Subpoenas show the U.S. Attorney has demanded a wide range of documents from the state involving Fagan and the owners of the La Mota dispensary chain.
Federal criminal investigators are looking into former Secretary of State Shemia Fagan and the two cannabis entrepreneurs she briefly worked for, records show.
According to subpoenas released by the Oregon Department of Justice on Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in late May sent demands to five state agencies for records concerning Fagan and the owners of the La Mota cannabis chain, Aaron Mitchell and Rosa Cazares.
Fagan stepped down on May 8 after revelations she’d taken on private consulting work for Mitchell and Cazares as her office prepared an audit of state cannabis regulations that was seen as extremely favorable to cannabis companies.
The state is pursuing two inquiries into that arrangement — one on whether Fagan broke state ethics laws and another on the audit her agency carried out — but now federal authorities want to know if any crimes occurred.
It’s not clear what exactly prosecutors are investigating. The Oregonian/OregonLive first reported on Monday that federal officials were convening a grand jury to look more closely at the scandal.
A spokesman for Oregon U.S. Attorney Natalie Wight, the state’s top federal prosecutor, said Wednesday he could not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation. [Read More @ OPB]
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