Cake Shop Owners Rolling in Dough - by Selling Cocaine

PHOTO: The owners of G's Cake Shop -- Cakes for All Occasions in Virginia Beach pled guilty Monday to money laundering, drug and tax charge. Google image

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A Virginia couple who ran a cake bakery in Virginia Beach pled guilty Monday to money laundering, drug and tax charges, according to the Justice Department.

The Portsmouth husband and wife deposited hundreds of thousands in cash into nearly a dozen bank accounts, including one in the Caribbean, authorities said. The two face decades in prison and will be sentenced in June.

Vernon Michael Norvell, 43, pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Cheron Johnson, 31, who is married to Norvell, pleaded guilty to money laundering and making a false statement in a tax filing.

Justice officials say Norvell was at times taking home $60,000 to $70,000 per week selling kilos of cocaine from the couple's home in Crystal Lake, as well as their cake bakery, “G’s Cake Shop – Cake For All Occasions” and a Food Lion grocery store parking lot in Portsmouth.

According to court documents, Norvell and Johnson used the proceeds of his cocaine distribution to purchase a home in the Crystal Lake neighborhood of Portsmouth, several automobiles, expensive clothing and other material items.

In addition to the drug and money laundering crimes and according to court documents, from 2012 to 2014, Norvell and Johnson reported a combined adjusted gross income of $157,916, yet during that same period they deposited $926,854, including $338,860 in cash, into nearly a dozen bank accounts, including one off-shore account located in Curaҫao. From January 2011 through August 2015 the couple deposited $468,500 in cash into their accounts, according to authorities.

Both Norvell and Johnson will be sentenced on June 22. Norvell faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison, while Johnson faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Location of G's Cake Shop in Virginia Beach (Google map):