Milton home to be seized by federal government after Massachusetts woman was sentenced for role in multimillion-dollar cannabis scheme

A Massachusetts home owned by a woman who was sentenced recently for her role in a multimillion-dollar cannabis scheme will be seized by the federal government, according to records.

Deana Martin, 53, was sentenced to serve four years in prison Tuesday in U.S. District Court after she previously pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion, one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana, one count of marijuana possession with intent to distribute and three counts of money laundering.

Martin was ordered to pay restitution of $528,146 and will be on supervised release for three years.

Records show Martin and a co-defendant, Tatiana Fridkes, were indicted in May 2019 in connection with their management of Northern Herb, a marijuana delivery service that operated in Massachusetts from 2015 to 2018.

Fridkes was sentenced earlier this year to time served and two years of supervised release after she pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. Fridkes was also ordered to pay restitution of $82,000.

Authorities said Martin owned and managed Northern Herb, which operated a website offering marijuana products for sale including raw marijuana, pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes and marijuana edibles.

“While Northern Herb purported to provide medical marijuana, it did not require a customer to provide proof of a medical marijuana card,” federal investigators said. “Furthermore, Northern Herb delivered marijuana to unattended locations (such as a front door or hallway) where unknown third parties could have accessed it. Northern Herb used locations in Canton, Milton, Foxborough and Hyde Park to store and distribute marijuana, and employed at least 25 workers.”

Investigators said Northern Herb’s revenue exceeded $14 million from May 2016 through July 2018.

“Northern Herb did not withhold or pay taxes on its millions of dollars in marijuana sales and did not pay taxes on its profits,” authorities said. “Much of the cash collected by Northern Herb from customers was used to pay its suppliers and its workers.”

Records on file in court show federal authorities will seize 1421 Canton Ave. in Milton in connection with the case against Martin. If the property is sold, the government agreed to credit up to $312,000 to Martin’s restitution.