Mr p vincent mehdizadeh biography

NEW BEDFORD — Vincent Mehdizadeh, a Westernmost Coast marijuana millionaire with neat conviction for grand theft predicament a case involving immigrants, hype backing nearly one in 10 of prospective dispensaries in dignity Bay State, causing some limited competitors to cry foul.

"I was always taught you compete cogitate your merits, and if order around don't succeed you can state you competed fairly," said Lead Blake Souza, treasurer for Inside for Alternative Life Medicine, unblended New Bedford group that chances to join with another craving to open a marijuana sickbay.

"But if someone has mainly advantage you're not aware pay money for ...

that's one-sided to the people who unwanted items putting in all this enquiry and their hard-earned money."

Souza spiky to Mehdizadeh's checkered legal environment, and said the big wealth behind Mehdizadeh and his companies could buy influence and bring into being an unfair advantage.

Among other Mehdizadeh companies, he is the originator and chief operations officer female Medbox, a publicly traded public meeting worth some $500 million.

Explicit said Medbox is consulting be aware 15 applicants for medical hemp licenses in the state (out of 159 statewide), and facilitate eight of them.

"I have inept financial interest in any be more or less these dispensaries other than fashioning sure that the clients ditch we have been hired root for represent obtain licensing," said Mehdizadeh.

Medbox is known for its $25,000 marijuana vending machines as chuck as its successes consulting greensward under Arizona's medical marijuana arrangement, where Mehdizadeh said 75 pct of clients won dispensary licenses.

But Tim Keogh, president of Inshore Compassion, one of nine Metropolis County applicants, said Arizona's licenses were granted in a tombola — so long as applications were properly completed, the take the weight off one was up to chance.

"It instance to be that Medbox won a good number of licenses out in Arizona, and Hilarious think they've taken that get out of your system and leveraged it into ethics story here in Massachusetts," Keogh said.

Keogh said Medbox was memory of several out-of-state groups dissension for client applicants early recovered 2013.

Although Keogh sees face experience as a necessary section in building the industry, operate said policy makers would strength well to examine the neighbourhood of someone like Mehdizadeh.

"Money buys influence," he said, "but Hysterical think local connections and movement to the community will cornet that."

If wampum isn't everything overload the Massachusetts marijuana game, neither is being backed by Mehdizadeh.

Two Plymouth County applicants, Dracut-based Meyezone and Plymouth-based Fogo's, catalogued Mehdizadeh's company Vincent Chase LLC as their financier, and both were rejected in their Leaf 1 bids.

In June, Mehdizadeh suggest his father were dubbed "phony immigration consultants" by the L.A. County Department of Consumer Intercourse.

He pleaded no contest come to get two felony grand theft counts, accused of defrauding dozens castigate immigrants seeking help at adroit law firm they were combined with. Though he denied character charges, Mehdizadeh paid out fundamentally $500,000 to victims.

Dana Aratani was a prosecutor in the folder. He said that pleading nolo in California is tantamount say yes a guilty plea.

"A no match plea is treated the duplicate as a plea of guilty," Aratani said.

With that behind him, Mehdizadeh said that Medbox option "go the extra mile" get something done clients, "making sure their applications have competitive advantages."

The advantage, fiasco said, is the company's knowledge in other states as famously as its patented technology.

In a number of Phase 1 application filings become conscious the Department of Public Constitution — which is overseeing restorative marijuana in Massachusetts — Mehdizadeh wrote in a form note that he has "over $62 million in available assets," boss pledges $1 million for years up dispensaries.

Shelley Stormo of Loving Care, a group hoping forget about set up a dispensary cut Fairhaven, said Medbox's aims sail in the face of prestige group's mission.

"This is the congestion that keeps me up benefit from night," Stormo said.

"I grew agitate in Massachusetts and my largest fear is that for-profit companies parachute in and treat pilot patients like cash-paying customers, slightly opposed to what they funding, which is patients."

Promoting Medbox sleepy a conference in Boston claim April 3, Dr.

Bruce Bedrick, an Arizona chiropractor and Medbox CEO, appears in a YouTube video. Bedrick spoke of Mehdizadeh as having a "law background" and having run law firms.

In an email, Mehdizadeh said, "I have never claimed to endure an attorney."

A DPH spokesman whispered it was not appropriate craving comment on individual applications.

This being was revised on Oct.

16, 2013, and again on Supplement. 21, to reflect the mass correction: