The woman at the center of Oregon's first fraud investigation into a regulated marijuana business clearly knew about a fabricated letter that made bogus claims about her enterprise in an effort to lure investors, the state inquiry concluded.
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services this week ordered Tisha Siler, CEO of a Northeast Portland pot dispensary called Cannacea, to pay $40,000 in fines for multiple violations of state securities law, including selling securities without a license.
The case against Siler is a "classic example of investment fraud in which an individual uses a new and potentially profitable industry as an enticement" to back an illegitimate company, agency spokesman Jake Sunderland said Friday.
He cautioned people to do their homework. "Check before you invest," he said.
