Sweet Leaf Execs To Serve Jail Time After Looping Investigation

DENVER, CO – Although most of the people arrested in the December, 2017 "looping" sting at Sweet Leaf marijuana dispensaries last year were bud tenders, two of the company executives will spend time in jail.

Westword reported Friday that Nichole West, former Sweet Leaf vice president and Ashley Goldstein, the chain's retail operations manager, pleaded guilty to felony drug charges this week and will each serve 30 days in Denver County jail. As of Friday night, West's name appeared in the online Denver county Jail inmate roster, but Goldstein's did not.

Last year, Denver and Aurora police conducted a sting operation that arrested 18 bud tenders at Sweet Leaf locations in both cities for allegedly "looping" or selling more than the legally allowed one ounce of marijuana product to customers who returned several times during a single visit.

During a disciplinary hearing with the city's licensing agency, Denver police evidence showed that in a year-long investigation, more than 1,000 "looping" transactions were recorded. City attorneys estimated that one Sweet Leaf location earned $4 million between 2016-2017 just from looping transactions. Loopers were estimated to represent 30 to 50 percent of the overall sales for the company, Westword's Cannabis writer Thomas Mitchell reported.

In the end, 26 licenses for the company were revoked and seven dispensaries and multiple grow and manufacturing centers were closed.

All of the bud tenders arrested in December had their charges dropped by the Denver DA.

Sweet Leaf owners Anthony Suaro, Christian Johnson and Matthew Aiken, have not been charged so far, but Westword reported that a grand jury investigation took place. The three are prohibited from working in the state's marijuana industry for 15 years.

READ MORE in Westword

Related: 26 Sweet Leaf Pot Licenses Revoked in Denver

Related: Denver Police Arrest 13 Bud Tenders In Pot Shop Raids

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